No. 7 Virginia is Home to Host Elon Thursday
2018 Men’s and Women’s Soccer Parking | Facilities – FAQs Regarding Disharoon Park and Klöckner Stadium Bag and Entry Policies | UVA Game Notes | Tickets | Watch | Live Stats
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 7 Virginia (1-0) will take on Elon (1-1) at Klöckner Stadium on Thursday (Aug. 30) at 7 p.m. The contest will air live on ACC Network Extra.
Game Coverage: 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 match’s live stats feed on VirginiaSports.com and on the men’s soccer official twitter feed (@UVAMenSoccer).
TICKETS AVAILABLE
Fans can purchase tickets at a discounted rate in advance by going online to VirginiaSports.com/Tickets. For all regular season home games, available reserved single-game tickets can be purchased in advance for $8 online or via mobile devices. Tickets are $10 at the sport-specific ticket office on game day. General admission single-game tickets are $5 in advance and $8 at the sport-specific ticket office locations on game day.
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Virginia Athletics has a clear bag policy and entrance procedures in effect for Klöckner Stadium this season. Please review FAQs here: https://virginiasports.com/sports/2018/5/22/facilities-clear-bag-Disharoon-Klockner.aspx
THROWBACK THURSDAY
• The Cavaliers were victorious, 3-1 in the only other meeting against Elon on Oct. 18, 2000 at Klöckner Stadium.
• Then-freshman sensation Alecko Eskandarian scored two of the three Cavalier goals. Eskandarian went on to win the 2000 ACC Rookie of the Year award and finished the year with 38 points, the most ever by a UVA freshman. He became the No. 1 overall pick of D.C. United in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft after winning the Mac Hermann Trophy as a UVA junior.
OPENING NIGHT MAGIC
• Virginia topped No. 19 New Hampshire, 1-0 on a goal by Joe Bell with 20 seconds left in regulation. Just five days prior, Bell led helped his native New Zealand qualify for the 2019 U-20 World Cup by capturing the Oceania Championship in Tahiti. He was given the golden ball as the tournament’s most valuable player.
• It marked the fifth-straight season in which the Cavaliers were triumphant in their season opener.
• In the 2017 season-opener, Virginia topped Villanova in double overtime, allowing George Gelnovatch to pass his predecessor Bruce Arena with his 296th career win, the most in program history.
IN THE POLLS
• Virginia jumped eight spots, to No. 7 in this week’s United Soccer Coaches poll.
• It marks UVA’s highest National rankings since the week of Sept. 21, 2015.
• The Cavaliers are one of four ACC schools (Wake Forest-1; Duke-2; Louisville – 9) in the top-10. A total of six ACC teams are included in the top-25
WEEKLY ACCOLADES
• Colin Shutler was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week after he recorded his first shutout in his first career start. He made two saves including one in the 75th minute on a New Hampshire Breakaway
• Shutler is the first UVA goalkeeper to earn weekly honors since 2016 when former teammate Jeff Caldwell shared the honor with two other ACC netminders.
• Joe Bell was an Honorable Mention on the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week after netting the game winner in the 90th minute against No. 19 New Hampshire.
CLEAN SHEETS
• The Cavaliers are the only team in the ACC not to allow a goal over the first week of competition.
• The Virginia defense fended off 11 New Hampshire shots for the first shutout of the 2018 season. Defenders Aboubacar Keita, Henry Kessler and Prosper Figbe played all 90 minutes in the win.
• Goalkeeper Colin Shutler made two saves in his first career start. He made a critical stop in the 75th minute, denying Wildcat forward Chris Arling on a breakaway opportunity.
• Opponents have been held scoreless in four of the last six games dating back to last season.
RANKED OPPONENTS
• Virginia improved to 5-4-7 against ranked opponents since the 2016 season.
• The Cavaliers have now been victorious in five-straight season-opening games, including four against ranked opponents.
NEW FACES
• The Virginia starting lineup featured three student-athletes who made their collegiate debuts and two others that made their first collegiate starts. A total of four starters had less than five college games played.
• Freshman Aboubacar Keita, Cabrel Happi Kamseu and Spencer Patton all made their collegiate debuts in Friday night’s opener. Keita and Happi Kamseu played all 90 minutes of the contest.
• Justin Ingram and Colin Shutler were both credited with their first collegiate starts.
NOTING ELON
• The Phoenix went 1-1 at the John Rennie/Nike Classic held at Duke University over the weekend. Elon dropped its opener on Friday against Vermont, 2-0 but bounced back on Sunday with a 3-0 victory against No. 20 Florida International.
• Senior Jack Willbye and redshirt junior Hassan Pinto earned All-Tournament honors. Goalkeeper Matthew Jegier, the program’s all-time leader in shutouts with 27, produced his first clean sheet on Sunday after making three saves.
• The Phoenix returns 19 letterwinners and eight starters from last year’s squad and second-year head coach Marc Reeves. Reeves helped lead the Phoenix to a 7-5-6 ledger in 2017 and its fourth straight trip to the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament.