Virginia Cruises to 4-0 Victory Over Rider

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Powered by a three-point performance from Daniel Mangarov on his Cavalier debut, Virginia (1-1-0) earned its first victory of the season as they defeated Rider (0-2-0) by a score of 4-0 on Monday night (Aug. 29) at Klöckner Stadium.

Goals (Assists)

13’ – Virginia: Daniel Mangarov (Phil Horton)
17’ – Virginia: Moritz Kappelsberger (Daniel Mangarov)
35’ – Virginia: Leo Afonso (Isaiah Byrd)
44’ – Virginia: Kome Ubogu (Jeremy Verley)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Virginia started on the front foot earning two corners quickly in the opening minutes, while Will Citron tallied an effort on goal following a free kick that was saved by the goalkeeper.

The Cavaliers’ persistence paid off when in the 13^th minute, Phil Horton won a strong challenge in midfield which Daniel Mangarov recovered. Mangarov quickly slipped the ball back in behind to Horton, whose blast of an attempt was saved by the goalkeeper. However, Mangarov was there to put home the rebound and tally his first goal as a Cavalier.

It didn’t take long for Mangarov put his fingerprints on the game again. Just two minutes later, the junior put an out-swinging ball from a free kick into the penalty area, where Moritz Kappelsberger blasted his header into the top corner and doubled the Virginia lead.

In the 35^th minute, it was Virginia’s leading scorer from the 2021 campaign, Leo Afonso, who opened his account for 2022. After receiving a throw-in from Isaiah Byrd, Afonso turned on the ball and guided it into the far corner of goal with the perfect strike.

Virginia slammed the door shut in the final minute of the first half as Jeremy Verley rocketed a free kick off the left post for Kome Ubogu to guide into the net.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• Virginia scored four or more goals for the first time since a 4-1 victory over Clemson in 2018.
• The last time Virginia scored three first-half goals was in a win over George Mason in March of 2021
• Virginia’s Axel Ahlander and Daniel Mangarov each made their debut performances for the Cavaliers
• Mangarov is the first Cavalier to score on his debut since Ank Nibogora tallied a game-winner in Virginia’s opening match of 2021 against Western Michigan
• Moritz Kappelsberger scored his first goal as a Cavalier
• Holden Brown kept his first clean sheet of the season while making two saves
• Virginia controlled 60 percent of possession and outshot the Broncs by a margin of 8-5
• The Cavaliers did not allow a single shot in the first half
• Isaiah Byrd and Jeremy Verley each made their first starts of the season 

FROM HEAD COACH GEORGE GELNOVATCH

“It was a great team performance tonight. I’m really happy we were able to put the game to bed in the first half and be able to put lots of people on in the second half and get to play a ton of guys. Now we get to focus on Thursday which will be a really good game.”

Up Next:

Virginia is back in action on Thursday (Sept. 1) when the Cavaliers host in-state foe James Madison.