No. 10 Virginia Preps for Road Match at NC State

Oct. 12, 2017

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — No. 10 Virginia (9-1-2, 2-1-2 ACC) will play its third road match of the season on Friday (Oct. 13) when they visit NC State (6-4-1, 2-3 ACC) for an Atlantic Coast Conference contest. The game will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra and Regional Sports Network.

Coverage: ACC Network Extra is available to authenticated subscribers of ESPN3 through WatchESPN and the ESPN app. For a complete listing of RSN affiliates for Friday night’s game visit the link below. Live Stats will be available on VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get in-game updates on the men’s soccer official twitter feed (@UVAMenSoccer).

RSN Affiliates: http://www.theacc.com/sports/2017/9/25/rsn-msoc-171006.aspx

Match Notes

• Virginia comes into Friday’s match unbeaten in its last four games while NC State has not lost in its last three times out.
• The Cavaliers moved up a spot in the United Coaches National Poll to No. 10 on Tuesday (Oct. 10) and dropped two spots to No. 6 in the NCAA RPI.
• Virginia is currently in fourth place in the ACC Coastal Division standings with eight points, one point behind third place Duke and two points behind second place Notre Dame.
• 10 different Virginia players have scored this season and 13 have recorded a point.
• Of the first 12 games of 2017, Virginia has been home for 10 of them with road contests at Virginia Tech and Notre Dame.
• Virginia has played in six overtime contests and boast a 3-1-2 record in matches requiring extra time. N.C. State has played three OT games including Tuesday’s 0-0 draw with USC Upstate.

Series History

• Friday will be the 74th meeting between Virginia and NC State. The Cavaliers have played only Duke (87), North Carolina (85) and Maryland (79) in more matches.
• Virginia owns a 48-17-8 advantage in the all-time series that began in 1949.
• The 48 wins against NC State are the most against any opponent.
• Ranked No. 6 at the time, Virginia won the last regular season meeting against the Wolfpack, 1-0 in Charlottesville on Sept. 18.
• The two programs met in the First Round of the 2016 ACC Tournament in Charlottesville, a 1-0 Virginia victory.
• The Cavaliers are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games against N.C. State.

Comeback Kids

• Virginia improved to 7-0 against non-conference opponents on Tuesday night with a 4-2 comeback win over Lehigh.
• The Cavaliers erupted for four, second half goals, the most in a half since Sept. 11, 2012.
• Junior Edward Opoku broke a 2-2 tie with the eventual game-winner in the 82nd minute.
• Trailing twice in the contest, including a 1-0 deficit at halftime, Virginia registered its third come-from-behind victory of the season (Portland & Davidson)
• Sophomore Ryan Peterson sealed the win with his first collegiate goal in the 86th minute to make the score, 4-2.
• Virginia used 20 different players in the non-conference victory, the second most this season (22 vs. Hofstra). Reserve Jerren Nixon Jr. recorded his first collegiate point with an assist on Pablo Aguilar’s game-tying goal in the 73rd minute.

Virginia Attack

• The Cavaliers have done most of their offensive damage in the second half, scoring 16 of its 26 goals this season in the final 45 minutes of regulation.
• Virginia currently ranks 10th in the country in total goals scored (26) and 15th in scoring offense (2.17 gpg).
• Edward Opoku is tied for third in the ACC with 17 points (7g, 3a) and ranks seventh in total goals (7).
• Sergi Nus added to his career best with his sixth goal against Lehigh on Tuesday night. He and Opoku are tied for the team lead with three game-winning scores this season.
• Pablo Aguilar has now registered a point in five of the last six games after tying the game up at two in the second half against Lehigh. His five goals on the year are two shy of a career-high set last season.

Penalty Kicks

• Virginia surrendered only its second penalty kick goal of the season on Tuesday night against Lehigh.
• Opponents are now 2-for-2 in penalty kick attempts in 2017.
• Sergi Nus tied the game at one against Lehigh with his fourth penalty kick goal of the season.
• As a team, Virginia has already matched last year’s total with four PKs made.

Career Notes

• Senior Jeff Caldwell will play in his 53rd game as the Virginia goalkeeper on Friday night, tied for the fourth most in program history.
• Caldwell has played every minute of the last 50 games in net for the Cavaliers.

Noting NC State

• NC State has recorded ACC wins over Syracuse (2-1) and Clemson (1-0) this season.
• The Wolfpack are 5-1-1 at home this season.
• After going scoreless in three-straight games midway through the season, NC State has scored five times in its last three games.
• Julius Duchscherer and Tanner Roberts each have four goals to lead the Wolfpack.
• Goalkeeper Leon Krapf is tied for the league lead with five shutouts this season.