Nov. 11, 2017

No. 17 Virginia vs. No. 1 Wake Forest
Date/Time Nov. 12 | Noon
Location Charleston, S.C. | MUSC Health Stadium
Live Video ESPNU
Live Stats VirginiaSports.com
Game Notes UVA

2017 ACC Tournament Bracket | ACC Championship Page

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Sixth-seeded Virginia (12-3-4) will take on defending ACC Champion, Wake Forest (17-1-1) in the 2017 ACC Championship Final on Sunday (Nov. 12) at MUSC Health Stadium in Charleston, S.C. The game is slated for a noon start and will be broadcast live on ESPNU.

Game Coverage: In addition to the ESPNU telecast, the match is also available 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).

Match Notes

  • Sunday will be Virginia’s 19th trip to the ACC Championship final, the most among any ACC school. The Cavaliers are 10-8-1 in ACC Championship final matches.
  • Virginia is seeking its 11th ACC Tournament Title (16th overall), also the most among active ACC schools.
  • The Cavaliers last appeared in an ACC Tournament Final in 2013, a 1-0 loss to Maryland in Germantown, Md. The last ACC Title game victory was in 2009, a 1-0 win over NC State preceding the program’s sixth National Championship
  • As the sixth-seed, Virginia is looking to become the highest seed to win an ACC Championship since Duke won it as a No. 5 in 2005. The Cavaliers were also a six-seed in their last title game appearance in 2013.
  • Wake Forest will be Virginia’s seventh nationally-ranked opponent this season. The Cavaliers are 1-2-3 against teams in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25.
  • Virginia is 2-1-2 in its last five games against an opponent ranked No. 1 in the country. The Cavaliers haven’t squared off against a top-ranked opponent since 2014, a 1-0 win over then-No. 1 Notre Dame in the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament.

Series History

  • The meeting with Wake Forest will be the 46th all-time and 17th in the ACC Tournament. The Cavaliers are unbeaten, 13-0-4 in the ACC Tournament against the Demon Deacons.
  • UVA leads the overall series against Wake Forest, 36-12-7.
  • Virginia and Wake Forest have met only once in the ACC Tournament final, a 3-1 Cavalier victory in 1991.

UVA in ACC Tournament

  • Virginia has outscored opponents 6-1 in three games in the 2017 ACC Tournament and has recorded a pair of shutouts.
  • The goal by Notre Dame early in the second half of Wednesday night’s semifinal was the first by a Cavalier opponent in 248 minutes of ACC Tournament action.
  • Redshirt senior Pablo Aguilar is responsible for five points (2g, 1a) in three ACC Tournament games. For his career, he has four goals and two assists in 15 postseason games.
  • Five different Cavaliers have scored a goal for the Cavaliers this postseason.

Semifinal Resilience

  • It took less than five minutes for Virginia to break a 1-1 second half tie in a 2-1 victory over Notre Dame.
  • ACC All-Freshman team selection, Joe Bell punched in a cross from the end line by Edward Opoku for the eventual game-winner in the 54th minute. It was Bell’s second goal of the season and the 20th point of the year by Opoku.
  • Virginia took a 1-0 lead into the halftime break thanks to the first career goal by Robin Afamefuna. He took an Aguilar lead pass and beat the keeper to the near post for the opening score.
  • Goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell made a diving, fingertip save in the 81st minute to preserve the 2-1 lead. The shot was Notre Dame’s only attempt in the final 37 minutes of action.

Virginia Offense

  • With Afamefuna’s goal, Virginia now has 11 different players who have found the back of the net this year. A total of 14 players on the roster have recorded a point.
  • Virginia improved to 8-1-1 when scoring first and have tallied 21 of its 34 goals in the second half or later.

Inside the Numbers

  • Virginia is 42-18-11 all-time in the ACC Tournament, the most wins by any current or former league members.
  • The neutral site contest for Virginia will be the first since the 2014 National Championship game against UCLA in Cary, N.C. The Cavaliers have played just five games away from Klöckner Stadium in 2017.
  • Caldwell enters the match with 1,822 minutes played this season the fourth most by any goalkeeper in the country.
  • Virginia enters the contest with 34 goals, the 22nd most in the nation and the fourth most in the ACC.
  • The Cavaliers enter the contest with 12 wins, the most before entering the NCAA Tournament since 2009 when they posted 13 before making their National Championship run.
  • Virginia has played in nine overtime contests this year, including a 0-0 draw in the ACC Quarterfinal at Louisville, one shy of matching a school record established in 2009. The Cavaliers are 4-1-4 in extra time games in 2017.
  • In each of George Gelnovatch’s 22 seasons as head coach, Virginia has recorded double digit wins. The Cavaliers have qualified for the NCAA Tournament each of the last 36 seasons, the longest streak in the NCAA.

Career Notes

  • Caldwell will start in his 60th game in goal for Virginia and move into a tie with David Comfort (1999-02) for the third most in UVA history.
  • Caldwell is also eight saves shy of fourth place on UVA’s all-time saves list, also occupied by Comfort.
  • Pablo Aguilar and Edward Opoku each have 16 career goals, the most among active Cavaliers.

Noting Wake Forest

  • The Demon Deacons went undefeated in ACC play (7-0-1) with their only tie coming in their regular season finale against Syracuse on Oct. 27
  • Wake Forest comes into the contest unbeaten in its last 15 matches.
  • The Demon Deacon attack is led by ACC Offensive Player of the Year Jon Bankero who scored the game-winning goal against Clemson in the ACC Semifinal.
  • Wake Forest is looking to become only the fourth team to repeat as ACC Tournament Champions since Maryland (2012 & 2013). Duke (2005 & 2006) and Virginia (twice) are the only other programs to win in back-to-back years.
  • Head Coach Bobby Muuss was the first coach in ACC history to win Coach of the Year three-straight seasons.
  • Wake Forest currently leads the country in total goals with 55. Bankero leads all of college soccer with 42 points (14g, 14a).