No. 13 Virginia Hosts Villanova Friday in Season Opener

Aug. 23, 2017

UVA Men’s Soccer Roster | Schedule | Ticket Information | 2016 Statistics | VSTV Men’s Soccer Page

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – In the 74^th season of soccer at Virginia, the 13^th-ranked Cavaliers will open the 2017 regular season on Friday (Aug. 25) against Villanova. Game time slated for 7 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium.

Game Coverage: There will be no live video stream of Friday night’s contest but the game can be followed via . A total of 14 of the remaining 15 Virginia regular season games this season will be carried on ACC Network Extra. For in-game updates for all games, follow the men’s soccer program on twitter (@UVAMenSoccer).

Promotions:

• Virginia Soccer Rally Sticks for the first 1,500 students
• Hoo Crew T-shirts, Papa John’s Pizza and Pepsi products for the first 750 students
• First 250 youth 8th grade and under will receive a Virginia Soccer vuvuzela or cowbell.
• Post-game autographs – Immediately following the match, the men’s soccer team will sign autographs for approximately ten (10) minutes by the south end of Klöckner Stadium.

New Beginnings

• Friday’s match marks the start of the 74^th season of men’s soccer at Virginia and the 26^th at Klöckner Stadium.
• Virginia has seven national championships to its credit and owns an all-time mark of 749-343-118. The Cavaliers have appeared in 36-straight NCAA Tournaments, the longest active streak in the NCAA.
• Virginia will open its season at home for the fourth-consecutive season. The Cavaliers have won their last three opening games including a 2-1 win over Coastal Carolina last year. All-time, the Cavaliers are 46-24-3 in season-opening games.

Virginia Head Coach George Gelnovatch

• Entering his 22^nd season as the Head Coach and his 29^th on the coaching staff at Virginia, George Gelnovatch is one win away from becoming Virginia’s all-time leader in wins. He tied his predecessor, Bruce Arena, in last season’s 2-1 overtime win in the NCAA Tournament with his 295^th career victory.
• Gelnovatch enters Friday’s match with an overall record of 295-121-49 and his .690 winning percentage ranks 10^th among active NCAA Division I coaches.
• Gelnovatch has led the Cavaliers to two National Championships (2009, 2014) and four ACC Tournament Titles (1997, 2003, 2004, 2009). He has taken the Cavaliers to the NCAA Tournament all 21 years as a Head Coach and to five NCAA College Cups (1997, 2006, 2009, 2013, 2014).
• Over the course of his 29 years at Virginia, he has been part of all seven Virginia National Championships.

Rankings & Predictions

• In the United Soccer Coaches (Formerly the NSCAA) Preseason Poll, Virginia was one of eight ACC teams ranked in the top-25, coming in at No. 13.
• The 12 ACC head coaches picked Virginia to finish second in the Coastal Division behind North Carolina. For the second-straight season, the Tar Heels were voted to win the overall championship while National Runner-up, Wake Forest was selected to win the Atlantic Division.

Team Notes

• Virginia returns 21 letterwinners from last season including six that garnered postseason honors from the ACC. Goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell (Todd, N.C.) Edward Opoku (Millbrook, N.Y.) and Pablo Aguilar (Guatemala City, Guatemala) headline the returners after each earning second-team all-league honors in 2016.
• Junior forward Edward Opoku is one of 31 players nationwide on the 2017 MAC Hermann Trophy watch list, college soccer’s most prestigious award. Opoku was the team’s second-leading scorer with six goals in 2016. His five game-winners were tied for the 13^th most in the country.
• Virginia comes into Friday’s match looking to extend its 16-game home unbeaten streak. The Cavaliers were 9-0-4 at Klöckner Stadium last season and haven’t dropped a game at home since Oct. 16, 2015, a 1-0 loss to American.

Milestone Watch

• Jeff Caldwell ranks eighth in UVA history with 3,790 goalie minutes played. He trails former teammate Spencer LaCivita by 38 minutes for seventh all-time.

Noting Nova

• Friday will be the first ever meeting between Villanova and Virginia. The Wildcats are the only first-time opponent on the 2017 Cavalier schedule.
• The Wildcats are coming off a historic season that saw the program’s first ever NCAA Tournament berth. Villanova finished its 2016 campaign with an overall record of 10-8-3 and eventually fell to Akron in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Villanova was picked to finish fourth in the Big East preseason coaches poll after reaching the semifinal of the league’s tournament last season.
• Senior midfielder Andreas Bartosinski was named to the preseason All-Big East team after landing Second Team All-Conference honors as a junior.

Updated Bag Policy at Klöckner Stadium

Put into place starting with this weekend’s athletic events (Aug. 25-27), Virginia athletics has updated its bag policies to mirror those already in place for Scott Stadium. At Klöckner Stadium, Turf Field and Memorial Gymnasium the following procedures have been put into effect.

All guests are subject to inspection and search for prohibited items. Event staff will examine the contents of bags, jackets, pockets, or any other personal item before admitting guests to the facility. In order to expedite entrance into the facility, it is recommended that guests not bring bags to events and arrive early at the facility entrances.

Prohibited Items

• Artificial noisemakers^ – see exception below for men’s and women’s soccer games at Klöckner Stadium
• Balls, Frisbees, lacrosse sticks, and similar items
• Containers (including plastic or glass bottles, cans, coolers, or flasks)
• Food and beverages
• Strollers (except umbrella strollers) – prohibited at Scott Stadium only
• Umbrellas – prohibited at Scott Stadium only
• Weapons

^For men’s and women’s soccer matches only, artificial noisemakers are allowed; however air horns, whistles, bullhorns or devices that amplify electric sound, including battery-operated devices, are prohibited.

*The University of Virginia reserves the right to prohibit any item deemed hazardous or disruptive to the athletics event or the enjoyment of the event by other guests.

The above procedures are designed to provide a safe and positive experience for all fans in attendance at Virginia athletics events.