Virginia Scores Five in Win Over La Salle

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s soccer team (4-2-0) put on an offensive clinic as the team scored five goals in a single match for the first time since 2013 in a 5-0 win over La Salle (1-3-2) on Tuesday night (Sept. 13) at Klöckner Stadium.

Goals (Assists)

12’ – Virginia: Leo Afonso (Penalty)
35’ – Virginia: Axel Ahlander (Unassisted)
54’ – Virginia: Aidan O’Connor (Axel Ahlander, Moritz Kappelsberger)
58’ – Virginia: Kome Ubogu (Daniel Mangarov)
75’ – Virginia: Triton Beauvois (Penalty)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Virginia got off to a hot start in the early stages of the game as the team created three dangerous opportunities within the first five minutes of action.

In just the twelfth minute, Leo Afonso dribbled down the byline and with a bit of crafty footwork, slipped past his defender before being brought down inside the area to draw a penalty. With a beautifully placed attempt, Afonso cashed in to put the Cavaliers up by a margin of 1-0.

With just over half an hour played, Leo Afonso received a ball deep in the final third. With a couple of touches, he was able to keep the ball in play and send Axel Ahlander into the La Salle penalty area. Ahlander turned on the ball with an impressive display of skill and fired it into the low corner to double the Cavalier lead. Virginia would take a 2-0 advantage into the half.

Early in the second half, Virginia struck again, this time off a corner kick. An out-swinging ball from Paul Wiese found the head of Ahlander, and after a settling touch from Moritz Kappelsberger, Aidan O’Connor smashed home his first goal as a Cavalier to increase the Virginia lead.

In the 58^th minute, the Cavaliers earned a free kick just outside the La Salle penalty area. A perfectly placed ball from Daniel Mangarov found the head of Kome Ubogu, who did not waste his chance as he flicked the ball into the net. Triton Beauvois delivered the final blow from the penalty spot to make the score 5-0.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• Leo Afonso scored his fourth goal in five games
• Afonso led both teams in shots on target with six. He leads the ACC in total shots with 30.
• Five different players tallied goals in the match for Virginia
• Moritz Kappelsberger, Axel Ahlander and Daniel Mangarov each recorded assists
• The Cavaliers had seven different players with goal involvements (Afonso, Ahlander, Beauvois, Kappelsberger, O’Connor, Ubogu)
• Holden Brown kept his third clean sheet of the season and sixth of his career
• Virginia put five goals past an opponent for the first time since a 5-0 victory over Pittsburgh (10/4/13)
• Virginia took a season-high 24 shots tonight and have outshot their opponents by a margin of 102-45 this season.
• Three Cavaliers logged the first goals of their Virginia careers including Axel Ahlander, Aidan O’Connor and Triton Beauvois
• Ahlander logged a career-high three points, as he recorded his first goal and assist as a Cavalier
• Nils Orywal made his first appearance of the season
• Under head coach George Gelnovatch, Virginia is now 34-8 against programs that are currently members of the A10
• Virginia has scored three or more goals in four out of the six games they’ve played this season
• Virginia leads the ACC in total goals with 17 on the season
• Ten different Cavaliers have recorded goals this season, the highest total of any team in the ACC
• No Cavalier has scored more than once in a single game this season

FROM HEAD COACH GEORGE GELNOVATCH

“We’ve been scoring goals. I think that’s the thing for me. This team is dangerous and we’re scoring goals, and then today we had another shutout. That’s probably the thing that’s stood out the most along with getting a lot of guys onto the field and get getting some guys rested and prepared for Friday.

“I think the goal now is to stop conceding. If we can keep up this goal-scoring production and lessen the goals scored on us, we will be in good shape. We will definitely be tested on Friday.”

Up Next:

The Cavaliers will return to Klöckner Stadium on Friday (Sept. 16) where they will resume ACC play against Notre Dame. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.