Sept. 7, 2017

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 11 Virginia (3-0) will begin Atlantic Coast Conference play on Friday (Sept. 8) when it hosts No. 7 Syracuse (3-0-1) at Klöckner Stadium. Game time is set for 7 p.m. and the match will air live on ACC Network Extra.

Game Coverage: The contest will air on ACC Network Extra, which is available to authenticated subscribers of ESPN3 through WatchESPN and the ESPN app. will be available on VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get in-game updates on the men’s soccer official twitter feed (@UVAMenSoccer).

PROMOTIONS

  • Virginia Soccer Rally Sticks for the first 1,500 students
  • Youth Soccer Night – $4 group tickets available for all youth soccer teams
  • SOCA Night – SOCA teams can submit their rosters to the Sports Promotions table; the team with the highest attendance will win a pizza party at a future game.
  • 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.

SERIES HISTORY

  • Syracuse comes to Charlottesville for the first time since it first joined the ACC in 2013.
  • The Cavaliers and Orange have split the only two previous meetings, both occurring at Syracuse.
  • Back in 2014, the Orange upended No. 2 Virginia, 1-0 on a goal in the 31st minute. Two first half goals powered the Cavaliers to a 2-0 victory in the inaugural meeting in 2013.

EXTRA TIME HEROICS

  • Junior Sergi Nus recorded his second golden goal of the season in a 2-1, overtime victory over UNCW on Monday night.
  • Nus also scored the game-winner on a penalty kick in the season-opening, double overtime win against Villanova on Aug. 25
  • Virginia has gone to overtime in two of the first three games and five of the last nine dating back to last season.
  • Freshman Faris Abdi assisted on Nus’ game-winning goal, serving the ball to the near post where Nus was able to head the ball in. The assist was the second of the season for Abdi, tying him for the team lead.

THREE IN-A-ROW

  • With a goal in the first half against UNCW, junior Edward Opoku has now scored a goal in each of the first three games this season.
  • He is the first UVA player to score in three consecutive games since Jake Rozhansky netted three in-a-row in early 2015. Opoku’s three goals lead the team are tied the fourth most in the ACC.
  • Opoku is Virginia’s active leader in career goals with 11, one ahead of teammate Pablo Aguilar. The Cavaliers are 11-0 when Opoku finds the back of the net.

POWER CONFERENCE

  • Seven of the top 11 teams in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll compete in the ACC.
  • Six of the 25 teams nationally without a loss or a tie are current ACC members, including Virginia at 3-0.

CONFERENCE OPENERS

  • Virginia hasn’t hosted a conference opener since defeating Virginia Tech, 1-0 in 2014.
  • Since 2010, the Cavaliers are 3-2-2 in league-opening games.

GOALKEEPER RANKINGS

  • Virginia goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell is currently tied with Brock Yesto (1995-98) for fifth most saves in Cavalier history (151).
  • Caldwell also ranks fifth in UVA history with 4,081 minutes played, just 11 minutes behind Yesto for the fourth most.
  • The Cavalier netminder needs one more shutout to tie David Comfort’s (1999-02) career mark of 19, the fourth most in program history.
  • Caldwell has played every minute of 41 consecutive games, dating back to 2015.

NOTING SYRACUSE

  • The Orange come into Friday’s match ranked No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll after a 3-0-1 start to the season.
  • In its own Central New York Classic, Syracuse tied Princeton, 1-1 and went on to defeat Northwestern, 3-1 last weekend.
  • Syracuse is coming off a 12-4-4 season that came to a close in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
  • The Orange were picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic Division in this year’s ACC Preseason Coaches Poll.
  • Along with Virginia’s Edward Opoku, Syracuse sophomore Mo Adams is one of 31 players nationally to be listed on the MAC Hermann Watch List, college soccer’s most prestigious honor. Adams was a Second Team All-Region honoree and a third team All-ACC selection a year ago.

Updated Bag Policy

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.