Virginia Tops Longwood in Preseason Opener

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (1-0 preseason) erased an early 1-0 deficit with a pair of goals by Leo Afonso in a 2-1 win over Longwood (0-1 preseason) at Klöckner Stadium on Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 17). All three of the match’s goals came in the first 40 minutes of action.

Goals (Assists)

6’ – Longwood: Markus Gronili (unassisted)
17’ – UVA: Leo Afonso (Kevin Ogudugu)
40’ – UVA: Leo Afonso (Micheal Tsicoulias)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Lancers jumped out to a 1-0 advantage when Markus Gronili capitalized on a UVA turnover in its defensive third.
• Leo Afonso netted the equalizer a little under 12 minutes later by punching in a well-placed lead pass from Kevin Ogudugu that beat Lancer goalkeeper Jacob Reimers.
• Afonso was credited with the eventual game-winner in the 40^th minute when he teamed up with freshman Michael Tsicoulias to convert an indirect kick inside the six.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• A total of 22 Cavaliers saw action in the contest, Kaya Ignacio and Andreas Ueland logged 67 minutes, the most of any UVA field player.
• Virginia held a 25-12 advantage in shots and a 14-3 edge in corner kicks in the match.
• Starting goalkeeper Holden Brown made four saves in 76 minutes of action and Antonio Rodriguez stopped three Lancer shot attempts in the final 14 minutes of the match.
• The Cavaliers and Lancers have not squared off in regular season action since 2010, a 2-0 UVA victory at Klöckner Stadium.

UP NEXT

• Virginia will play one final exhibition match at home on Saturday (Aug. 21) against Radford at 7 p.m. Admission to all Virginia preseason games is free. The contest is also scheduled to air live on ACCNX.
• The Cavaliers open the regular season on Thursday, August 26 at home against Western Michigan.
• Season tickets and single-game tickets are on sale now on UVATix.com