No. 6 Virginia Posts NCAA-Best 12th Shutout in 2-0 Win Over No. 25 Virginia Tech
BLACKSBURG, Va. – No. 6 Virginia (13-1-1, 5-1-1 ACC) was credited with its 12th shutout in a 2-0 road win over No. 25 Virginia Tech (7-4-2, 1-4-1 ACC) on Friday night (Oct. 25) at Thompson Field. The Cavaliers are unbeaten (10-0-5) in the last 15 meetings against the Hokies.
BLACKSBURG, Va. – No. 6 Virginia (13-1-1, 5-1-1 ACC) was credited with its 12th shutout in a 2-0 road win over No. 25 Virginia Tech (7-4-2, 1-4-1 ACC) on Friday night (Oct. 25) at Thompson Field. The Cavaliers are unbeaten (10-0-5) in the last 15 meetings against the Hokies.
Virginia also picked up its fifth ACC-win, the most since 2006. The Cavaliers sit atop the Coastal Division with 16 points.
Third-year Nathaniel Crofts (Sheffield, England) was credited with the game-winner when he broke a scoreless tie in the 33rd minute with his third goal of the season. Crofts settled a cross-field pass from Daryl Dike (Edmond, Okla.) and went one-on-one with a Hokie defender before unleashing a bending shot into the upper right corner of the frame for the go-ahead score. Crofts has seven career goals, two of the have come against Virginia Tech.
In the 57th minute Crofts returned the favor and placed a through ball from the far side right to the foot of Dike who one-touched the ball into the wide open, right side of the net. Dike has three goals in two games this week and leads the Cavaliers with six tallies on the season.
Redshirt junior Colin Shutler (Middleburg, Va.) matched a season-high five saves and secured his 12th clean sheet of the year. He also moved into sole possession of sixth place on UVA’s career shutout list with his 20th shutout in just 30 career starts.
Virginia Tech out-shot Virginia, 11-10, only the second time this season an opponent has out-shot the Cavaliers.
Virginia will host its final regular season match of the season on Friday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. The Cavaliers will celebrate its seniors with an on-field recognition prior to the contest.
Additional Notes
• Virginia improves to 41-4-5 against Virginia all-time and 14-2-5 under head coach George Gelnovatch.
• The Cavaliers have now won five ACC games five times in 24 seasons under Gelnovatch (2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2019).
• Eight of the 10 Cavalier field players logged 90 minutes of action, including Henry Kessler (New York, N.Y.) and Andreas Ueland (Byrne, Norway) who have played every minute of every match this season.
• Virginia improved to 6-0 against ranked foes this season and 3-0 against teams from the Commonwealth.
• For the second-straight season, the Cavaliers have gone undefeated in true road games in the regular season going 3-0 in 2018 and 4-0 in 2019.
• The Cavaliers needed a Pitt loss to clinch its first ever Coastal Division title. The Panthers scored four unanswered goals including the game-winner in the 87th minute to shock Duke, 4-3 on Friday.
Friday’s match was sponsored by Virginia529, the official college savings plan of University of Virginia Athletics. With Virginia’s victory, the Hoos have earned a point in the Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529. The score for the Clash is now University of Virginia – 2.5 and Virginia Tech -0. Learn more about Virginia529 and this competition at TheCommmonwealthClash.com.