Virginia Hosts UNC in Top 10 Matchup at Klöckner Friday

Sept. 21, 2017

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — No. 9 Virginia (5-0-1, 1-0-1 ACC) will be at home to host No. 7 North Carolina (7-1, 2-0 ACC) on Friday night (Sept. 22) at 7 p.m. The contest will be air on the Regional Sports Network and streamed online on ACC Network Extra.

Game Coverage

• The game will be televised live on the Regional Sports Network and ACC Network Extra (subject to blackout). For a complete list of RSN affiliates visit: http://www.theacc.com/sports/2017/9/12/rsn-msoc-170922.aspx?id=598&. ACC Network Extra 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

• Scarf Night – First 1,500 fans will receive the 2017 Virginia Men’s Soccer Scarf
• Virginia Soccer Rally Sticks for the first 1,000 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

• Friday night will be the 85^th meeting between Virginia and North Carolina.
• The first match between the two schools occurred in 1946, a 3-0 Tar Heel victory. The Cavaliers went on to avenge the loss, with a 2-1 win later on that season.
• North Carolina owns a 39-34-10 advantage in the all-time series.
• Virginia is unbeaten in its last three matches against North Carolina.
• The Cavaliers earned a 2-1 comeback victory over the Tar Heels in last season’s regular season matchup. The win snapped a nine-game, UNC unbeaten streak against Virginia. It was the Cavaliers’ first win over UNC since 2008.

Game Notes

• Virginia has scored 15 goals through its first six games of the season, the most since tallying 18 through the first six in 2000.
• The Cavalier offense is currently ranked seventh in the country in scoring (2.5 gpg).
• Virginia is one of 10 teams in the nation without a loss and has the fifth best winning percentage in Division I soccer (.917)
• Friday’s match will be the first in six days for Virginia, its longest layoff of the young season. It will be the first of two, six-day gaps between games this year with the other occurring In between the Pitt (10/20) and Duke (10/27) games.
• The meeting between No. 9 Virginia and No. 7 North Carolina is the first game between two top 10 teams at Klöckner Stadium since No. 7 Virginia and No. 5 Notre Dame played to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 21 2014.

Commonwealth Clash Recap

• Virginia spoiled its in-state rival’s home opener last Friday (Sept. 15) by coming away with a 2-1 victory. The road match was the first of the season for the Cavaliers.
• Junior Edward Opoku scored both goals, one in each half to keep the Cavaliers unbeaten on the season.
• Sophomore Ryan Peterson was credited his first point of the year when he assisted on the game’s first goal in the 8^th minute.
• Virginia Tech scored its lone goal in the contest with seven seconds remaining in regulation.

Player of the Week

• Forward Edward Opoku earned his second career ACC Offensive Player of the Week honor on Monday (Sept. 18)
• He registered his first multi-goal game of his career and was credited with the game-winner against Virginia Tech.
• He is tied for second in the ACC with five goals on the year. His 13 career markers are the most among active Cavaliers.
• Opoku leads the nation in points per game with 2.4 and is second in the country in goals per game (1.0).

Rock the Klöck

• Virginia is currently riding a 21-game unbeaten streak at its home pitch, Klöckner Stadium.
• The last setback suffered by Virginia at home was on Oct. 13, 2015 against American, 1-0.
• The Cavaliers played their first five games of the season in Charlottesville, posting a 4-0-1 record.
• A total of 12 regular season home games are scheduled for Klöckner Stadium this fall.

Another Coaching Milestone

• Last Friday, Virginia Head Coach George Gelnovatch notched his 300^th career win.
• Earlier this season, Gelnovatch became Virginia’s all-time leader in wins with his 296^th, surpassing his predecessor Bruce Arena.
• Gelnovatch owns a career mark of 300-121-49 (.690). Entering the season he was the 10^th-winningest active coach in the NCAA with a .687 winning percentage.
• Back on Oct. 1 2005, Gelnovatch earned is 150^th win against a second-ranked North Carolina team in front of 3,104 fans at Klöckner Stadium.
• Gelnovatch is one of 20 active head coaches in the country with 300 career wins.

National Rankings

• For the first time this season, Virginia is ranked in the top 10 in all three national soccer polls. The Cavaliers are ranked ninth in the United Soccer Coaches poll and fifth in both the TopDrawerSoccer.com and Soccer America polls.
• Virginia, who came into the season ranked 13^th, has appeared in the Top 25 in each of the last 12 weeks.
• The last time Virginia was not ranked was prior to its upset of No. 4 North Carolina on Oct. 7, 2016.

Noting North Carolina

• The Tar Heels are fresh off a 4-1, midweek victory over George Washington on Tuesday night (Sept. 19) in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels scored the game’s first three goals, all in the first half en route to their seventh win of the year.
• North Carolina brings in the nation’s top offense, scoring 2.88 goals per game and totaling 23 on the season.
• Forward Alan Winn took over the ACC lead in goals with his second, two-goal game of the season on Tuesday night. He now has six on the year and has recorded a point in each of his five games played this year.
• Cam Lindley is tied for the national lead with seven assists.
• The lone blemish on the North Carolina slate this season is a 1-0 road loss to UNCW on Sept. 1. Three days later the Seahawks fell to Virginia, 2-1 in overtime at Klöckner Stadium.
• North Carolina was picked to repeat as Coastal Division Champions in the 2017 ACC Preseason Coaches Poll.

Updated Bag Policy
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.