No. 12 Virginia Resumes ACC Play at Va Tech Friday

Sept. 14, 2017

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 12 Virginia (4-0-1, 0-0-1 ACC) continues Atlantic Coast Conference play on Friday (Sept. 15) when it travels to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech (2-3, 0-1 ACC). The game will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra.

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

Commonwealth Clash Series History

• Friday will be the first matchup of any sport between Virginia and Virginia Tech in 2017-18.
• Virginia owns a 39-4-4 advantage in the all-time series that began in 1960.
• The two teams have met in each of the last 14 years.
• Virginia is unbeaten in the last 12 matches against Virginia Tech (8-0-4).

Chasing 300

• Head Coach George Gelnovatch is one win away from eclipsing the 300 mark for career wins.
• In his 22^nd year at the helm, he has accumulated an overall record of 299-121-48 (.673).
• Against Villanova in the season opener, he surpassed his predecessor Bruce Arena for the most wins in school history (296).
• Against Virginia Tech, Gelnovatch is 11-2-4.

Midweek Recap

• Making only his second career start, Raheem Taylor-Parkes was credited with the game-winner in a 2-0 victory over Marquette on Tuesday night (Sept. 12)
• The game-winner was the first goal of Taylor Parkes’ career and it gave Virginia a 1-0 lead in the 48^th minute.
• Junior Sergi Nus provided an insurance goal in the 86^th minute, converting his second penalty kick attempt of the season.
• Marquette goalkeeper, Luis Barraza made six saves, the most by a Virginia opponent this season, after facing 15 shots.

National Rankings

• Despite a 2-2 tie against No. 7 Syracuse last Friday, Virginia dropped a spot to No. 12 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll.
• The Cavaliers are ranked No. 4 in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Poll and No. 5 in Soccer America.
• Coming into Friday, Virginia has the seventh-highest scoring offense in the country, totaling 2.6 goals per game

Scoring Spree

• The Cavaliers have eight different players find the back of the net this season, the exact number after 20 games in 2016.
• Edward Opoku and Sergi Nus are tied for the team lead with three goals apiece. Nus, already with a career-high in goals, has game-winners this season against Villanova and UNCW. Opoku scored in each of the first three games of the season, the first Cavalier to score in three-straight games since 2015.
• Three players, Faris Abdi, Opoku and Jean-Christophe Koffi, are each tied for the team lead in assists with two. Koffi helped tie the game at one with an assist and later gave Virginia the lead with his first goal of the year against No. 7 Syracuse last Friday.
• The 12 career goals by Pablo Aguilar and Opoku are the most among active Cavaliers.

Cavalier Legacy

• Goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell has made 43 consecutive starts in net for the Cavaliers over the past three seasons.
• His two-save shutout on Tuesday night was his 19^th of his career, tied for the fourth most in UVA history.
• Against Syracuse last Friday night, Caldwell passed Brock Yesto (1995-98) for fifth all-time in career saves. Going into Friday, Caldwell has 157 career stops.

Noting Virginia Tech

• The Hokies dropped their season opener to Duke last Friday night, 3-1. The Blue Devils scored the first three goals of the game before Collin Verfurth scored Virginia Tech’s lone goal.
• Ranked 17^th in the Preseason United Soccer Coaches Poll, Virginia split its season-opening weekend in Nebraska by defeating Creighton, 2-0 before falling to Omaha, 5-1.
• Hokie goalkeeper Ben Lundgaard is currently ranked ninth in the country in saves per game (5.6).
• Friday night will also serve as the home opener for Virginia Tech who has played five-straight games on the road.
• Hokie forward, Marcelo Acuna leads the team with three goals. The third-team All-American scored 11 goals last season and was pivotal in Virginia Tech’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in nearly a decade.

Commonwealth Clash
Friday’s match is sponsored by Virginia529, the official college savings plan of University of Virginia Athletics. It is also a potential point in the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash, the point rivalry series between University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. This is the first Commonwealth Clash event of the new athletic season. Learn more about Virginia529 and this competition atTheCommonwealthClash.com.”

The Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529 is a head-to-head, points-based competition between the athletic teams at University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. The Commonwealth Clash encourages a friendly, statewide rivalry between the two schools across all school-sponsored sports with 21 individual event points on the line. The school that accumulates 11 points or more will be crowned the winner and take home the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash trophy. Visit www.TheCommonwealthClash.com for more information and updated standings.