No. 10 Virginia Hosts Pitt in Home Finale

Oct. 19, 2017

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – In its final regular season home game of the season, No. 10 Virginia (9-2-3, 2-1-3 ACC) looks to improve its position for the ACC Tournament with a match scheduled for 7 p.m. against Pittsburgh (8-6, 2-4 ACC) on Friday night (Oct. 20) at Klöckner Stadium.

Coverage: The game will air live 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

• Fans are encouraged to arrive early as the Virginia men’s soccer program will honor its six seniors – Jeff Caldwell, Fabrice Shema, Nate Odusote, Bay Kurtz, Liam Jenkins and Julian Cummings – prior to the contest.
• At halftime, the Virginia Athletics Department will recognize the 1992 National Championship team.
• Virginia Soccer Rally Sticks for the first 1,500 students
• First 250 youth will receive a 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.

Match Notes

• Pittsburgh is the first of two final games left on the 2017 schedule for Virginia. The Cavaliers will close out the regular season at Duke next Friday (Oct. 27)
• Virginia has been held scoreless in its last two matches, a span of 200 minutes. It is the first time since late 2015 that Virginia has been held without a goal in back-to-back games.
• The Cavaliers are 8-2-1 at Klöckner Stadium this season and are unbeaten in 25 of the last 27 matches at home.
• Virginia held steady in all three national polls this week and come into Friday at No. 10 in the United Soccer Coaches poll. The Cavaliers are ranked No. 5 in TopDrawerSoccer.com national rankings and No. 6 in SoccerAmerica‘s latest poll.
• The Cavaliers dropped four spots in Monday’s NCAA RPI to No. 10. They started at No. 4 in the initial ranking on Oct. 1 and were No. 6 last week.
• Four of Virginia’s six ACC contests have gone to overtime this season, including last Friday’s 0-0 draw at NC State. Virginia is 3-1-3 in extra time games this season.

Series History

• Virginia is 5-0-1 against Pittsburgh in an all-time series that was first played in 1982.
• The two teams played to a scoreless draw on a rain-soaked night in Pittsburgh in last season’s meeting. Neither team recorded a shot on goal over the first 45 minutes. In the end, the Cavaliers held a 9-5 advantage in total shots and Jeff Caldwell went untested in his seventh clean sheet of the year.
• The two teams have met every year since Pittsburgh joined the ACC prior to the 2013 season.
• In the first three years in the league, Virginia outscored the Panthers 11-1 in three games.
• Pittsburgh has scored only one goal against Virginia in six total meetings.

Midweek Recap

• The Cavaliers suffered their first non-conference loss of the season on Tuesday night (Oct. 17), a 1-0 setback against Radford.
• Radford junior Sivert Daehlie scored the eventual game-winner in the 61st minute, his 11th goal on the season.
• Virginia managed six of the game’s eight shots on goal, including five in the final 45 minutes of play.
• The Highlanders earned their first victory over Virginia in 13 tries and snapped a 15-game Cavalier unbeaten streak against non-conference opponents.
• The Cavaliers finished with a record of 7-1 against non-conference opponents.

ACC Tournament Picture

• With nine points and two games to play, Virginia is in the middle of the pack in the ACC standings.
• In the Coastal Division, Virginia is tied with Duke and trails Notre Dame by one point. First place North Carolina (13 points) hosts Notre Dame in the regular season finale next Friday night (Oct. 27).
• All 12 ACC teams will play in the ACC Tournament with the top four seeds receiving a first-round bye. The Coastal and Atlantic division champion will automatically have the top two seeds.
• The 2017 ACC Championship game will be played in Charleston, S.C. with all prior rounds hosted by the higher seeds.

Noting Pittsburgh

• The Panthers’ eight wins this season, including two in ACC play, are the most since 2008.
• Last week, Pittsburgh stunned No. 7 Notre Dame on the road, 1-0. It was the first ACC road win for the Panthers since 2002 and Notre Dame’s first ACC loss at home since 2014.
• Of Pittsburgh’s eight wins this season, three have come against nationally-ranked opponents (No. 21 Syracuse, No. 13 Columbia and No. 7 Notre Dame).
• One of the signature wins on the season was a 7-0 thrashing of West Virginia on Sept. 26 in the 48th edition of the Backyard Brawl. It marked the first win over the Mountaineers in 17 years.
• A pair of freshmen, Dexter Alexander and Edward Kizza, lead the team in goals with five and four respectively.
• Goalkeeper Mikal Outcalt leads the ACC in save percentage (.797) and is second in saves per game (5.71).

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.