Four Goals Power Virginia Past Hofstra
Aug. 31, 2017
UVA Goals
10′ – Pablo Aguilar (Unassisted)
42′ – Edward Opoku (Julian Cummings, Pablo Aguilar)
47′ – Daniel Barir (Edward Opoku)
54′ – Julian Cummings (Edward Opoku)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 12 Virginia (2-0) recorded its first shutout of the 2017 season with a 4-0 victory over Hofstra (1-2) at Klöckner Stadium. Junior Edward Opoku (Millbrook, N.Y.) scored his second goal of the year and assisted on two others.
Opoku paced the Virginia offense, having a part of the final three scores of the night. It marked the first two-assist game of his career. He has now scored in back-to-back games for the second-time in two seasons.
The offensive output was the biggest since 2013 when the Cavaliers put five goals in the back of the net against Pittsburgh. Virginia is now unbeaten in 18-consectutive matches at Klöckner Stadium.
“I think we were very good today, any time you can score four goals and get a shutout on top of it, it’s a good day,” said head coach George Gelnovatch. “Klöckner (Stadium) is a special place for us, our fans are special people and we’ve been fortunate to have two good crowds behind us thus far.”
Senior Pablo Aguilar was credited with the game-winner after he opened up the Virginia scoring in the 10th minute with his first goal of the season. After a Hofstra foul just outside the box, Aguilar netted the free kick attempt to give the Cavaliers an early, 1-0 advantage.
Just before the half, Opoku put the Cavaliers up 2-0 in the 42nd minute. Aguilar fed a streaking Julian Cummings (Fredricksburg, Va.) who then sent a cross to the far post for a waiting Opoku. The goal was the 10th of Opoku’s three-year Cavalier career.
The Cavaliers padded their lead and put the game out of reach in the second half with pair of goals from two, first-time goal scorers. Opoku flicked an outside-foot lead pass to junior Daniel Barir (Copenhagen, Denmark) who then chipped it over the goalkeeper’s head to make it 3-0 in the 47th minute. Cummings capped the scoring with his first career marker in the 54th minute that was setup by a long Opoku cross from the near corner.
Goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell (Todd, N.C.) recorded his first shutout of the season, playing all 90 minutes in goal for the Cavaliers. Caldwell turned away all three of the Pride shots on goal. His shutout was the 18th of his career, passing former UVA All-American, Tony Meola (1988-89) for the fifth most in UVA history.
Up Next: The Cavaliers will play their third-straight home game this Monday night (Sept. 4) when they host UNCW (2-0). Game time is slated for 7 p.m. The Seahawks play home against North Carolina on Friday night in Wilmington before heading north to Charlottesville.
Additional Notes
-Virginia is 3-0 all-time against Hofstra and defeated the Pride, 1-0 last season on a Opoku goal in the 79th minute.
-Caldwell passed Yuri Sagatov (1994-97) and now ranks fifth in goalie minutes played in UVA history (3,987).
-The victory was George Gelnovatch’s 297th of his career. He passed Bruce Arena for the most in UVA history on August 25 against Villanova.
-22 different players saw action for the Cavaliers, Sergi Nus led all field players with 80 minutes played.
-Opoku and Aguilar each have 10 career goals, tied for the most among active UVA players.
-Virginia improves to 10 when Opoku scores a goal.