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Virginia Hosts Western Michigan in 2021 Season Opener

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (0-0-0) will open the 2021 season on Thursday (August 26) night when it plays host to Western Michigan (0-0-0) at 7 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium. The match will be streamed live on ACCNX.

Game Coverage: ACCNX is available to authenticated subscribers of ACC Network via the ESPN App. Links for the live stream and in-game live stats are available on VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also follow the Virginia men’s soccer official twitter account (@UVAMenSoccer) for in-game updates.

Admission: Fans can purchase single-game tickets in advance online at UVATix.com for $5. UVA athletics strongly encourages fans to avoid lines on game day and purchase their tickets online in advance, there are no fees when buying online. Single game tickets will be $10 at the window on game day. Group packages for parties of 20 or more are just $4 per ticket and are available online or over the phone in advance only.

General admission season tickets are also on sale for $25.

MATCH NOTES

Thursday’s match will mark the beginning of the 78th season of soccer at Virginia. The Cavaliers have the fifth-most wins of any college soccer program with 799.

PRESEASON NOTABLES

  • Virginia out-scored its preseason opponents Longwood and Radford by the score of 6-2. The Cavaliers produced a 2-1 comeback win over Longwood and finished their exhibition slate with a 4-1 win over Radford.
  • Sophomore Leo Afonso scored the first three goals of the preseason including both against Longwood. He finished the two-game exhibition portion of the schedule with four goals on eight shots. Last season as a freshman, Afonso scored twice while appearing in 15 games with six starts.
  • Freshman Michael Tsicoulias assisted on both game-winning scores in preseason action.

AGAINST WESTERN MICHIGAN

This will be the second meeting between Virginia and Western Michigan. In 2019, the Cavaliers emerged with a 1-0 overtime victory at Klöckner Stadium. Cabrel Happi Kamseu scored the golden goal in the 93rd minute with assists from future top-10 MLS SuperDraft picks, Daryl Dike and Bret Halsey, to vault UVA to its seventh-straight shutout to start the season.

SEASON OPENERS

For the eighth-straight season, Virginia will play its season opener at Klöckner Stadium. Under head coach George Gelnovatch, Virginia is 19-6 in season-opening games and has won seven-straight on opening night, including a 2-1, double overtime triumph over Louisville last season.

TEAM CAPTAINS

Gelnovatch announced that junior Andreas Ueland and sophomore Leo Afonso will serve as team captains in 2021. Ueland was named to the ACC Preseason Watch List and is one of two players remaining from the 2019 Virginia College Cup squad.

ROSTER MAKEUP

  • Virginia returns 17 letterwinners from a year ago and welcomes a recruiting class of 13 to Charlottesville for 2021.
  • Virginia returns five of its six top goal scorers from a year ago including junior Kevin Ogudugu who led the team with seven points (3g, 1a).
  • The 19 UVA goals last season were scored by 12 different players, nine of those goal scorers are back in 2021.

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