No. 11 Virginia Remains Unbeaten After 2-0 Win at Pitt
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – No. 11 Virginia (5-0-2, 2-0-1 ACC) scored two, second-half goals en route to a 2-0 road victory at Pittsburgh (4-5, 1-3 ACC). The Cavaliers registered their ACC-best, sixth shutout of the season and fourth in-a-row.
Freshmen Cabrel Happi Kamseu (Harare, Zimbabwe) and Aboubacar Keita (Columbus, Ohio), scored a little under 12 minutes apart early in the second frame to help the Cavaliers to their second-straight ACC road win.
Goalkeeper Colin Shutler made four saves, including two in the first 13 minutes of action, while recording his sixth clean sheet of the season. Shutler lowered his goals against average, which was already the lowest in all of college soccer, to 0.13.
Virginia hasn’t surrendered a goal in its last 469 minutes played and has allowed just one in seven games this season.
“This was a really good road win against one of the most underrated teams in our conference maybe in the country,” head coach George Gelnovatch said. “We got a lot of good individual performances tonight and I think as a unit we continue to get better with each game.”
Happi Kamseu broke the scoreless tie in the 52nd minute with a shot from the center of the box. The tally was the first year’s third in the last four games. The Cavaliers have scored six of their nine goals this season between the 40th and 53rd minutes.
Keita gave Virginia a 2-0 advantage in the 63rd minute by heading in a Joe Bell (Wanaka, New Zealand) corner kick service. The goal for Keita was the first of his career and fourth by a UVA freshman this season. It marked the third-straight game Bell has setup a UVA goal, he has a team-best three assists on the year.
After surrendering four shots (two on goal) in the first 13 minutes of action, Virginia did not yield another Pittsburgh chance for the next 20 minutes. The teams went into the halftime break with five shots a piece.
Virginia took control of the game in the early portions of the second half, attempting the first seven shots. For the game, the Cavaliers out-shot the Panthers, 13-10.
Virginia will return home on Tuesday (Oct. 2) to play the first of three-straight home games at Klöckner Stadium. The Cavaliers will host unbeaten Wright State (7-0-1) in only the second ever meeting between the two programs. Game time is set for 7 p.m. and the contest will air live on ACC Network Extra.
Additional Notes
• Virginia improved to 7-0-1 all time against Pitt including a 2-0-1 mark on the turf of Ambrose Urbanic Field.
• The second half saw five yellow cards and a red card (issued to Pitt). The final 14:48 with a man advantage for Virginia.
• Virginia has allowed just one goal through seven games this season, the only other time in 75 years of soccer that occured was in 1985 when the Cavaliers surrendered just one goal through their first eight games.