Cavaliers Take on No. 10 Pitt in Road Contest

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Virginia men’s soccer team (6-3, 2-1 ACC) is set to take on No. 10 Pitt (5-2-1, 2-1 ACC) in ACC action Friday night (Sept. 30) at Ambrose Urbanic Field. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Friday night’s match against No. 10 Pitt will be streamed on ACCNX which is available through the ESPN app and at WatchESPN.com for customers who have the ACC Network as a part of their television subscription. Live stats are also available and links to both the live stats and broadcast are available at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates by following the program’s official Twitter account (@UVAMenSoccer).

MATCH NOTES

• The Cavaliers will face their second consecutive top-10 opponent following a road victory over formerly No. 3 Syracuse
• Virginia is looking to win three consecutive games for the first time since the 2019 season
• Cavalier forward Leo Afonso leads the ACC in shots with 40
• Kome Ubogu and Leo Afonso are each tied for third in the ACC in total goals with 5
• The Cavaliers are 5-0 when Afonso scores a goal this season
• Virginia ranks second in the ACC in goals scored with a total of 21
• The Cavaliers are also second in goals scored in conference play with six
• Both Virginia and Pittsburgh trail Duke at the top of the ACC Coastal Division by just one point
• Virginia ranks in the ACC’s top-five in goals, shots, corners and shutouts this season

AGAINST THE PANTHERS

• Friday’s match will be the 13th meeting between Virginia and Pittsburgh
• The Cavaliers hold the edge in the series with a 7-4-2 record against the Panthers
• Head coach George Gelnovatch is 6-4-2 against Pitt
• Pitt has dominated the recent series as the Cavaliers are winless in their last five matches against the Panthers (LLLLT)
• The last time Virginia earned a victory over Pitt was in 2018 when Virginia earned a 2-0 road win over the Panthers (9/26/2018)
• Virginia has outscored Pitt by a margin of 24-16 all-time
• Friday’s match will be the second consecutive meeting between the two that Pitt enters with the No. 10 ranking nationally

RECENT LATE DRAMA

• In two of the last three meetings between Pitt and Virginia, the game has been decided by late goals to tie or take the lead
• The Cavaliers’ last matchup with Pitt featured an equalizing goal from Will Citron with just six seconds remaining in regulation – Pitt was issued a red card just two minutes before the equalizer
• After 20 scoreless minutes of overtime play, the Cavaliers earned a 2-2 draw at home. The match also featured a red card for Pittsburgh via a second-yellow in the late stages. Leo Afonso also scored in the match.
• In 2020, Second-ranked Pitt took a 2-0 lead inside the first half hour of play, but a pair of second-half goals brought Virginia level with the equalizing goal coming in the 90th minute of play thanks to Nick Berghold
• Pitt found the winner in the third minute of overtime

NOTING PITT

• Pitt is ranked No. 10 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll and has been ranked in all seven polls this season and have been ranked for 37 consecutive weeks – The nation’s longest active streak
• Over the last four seasons Pitt is 28-3-2 playing on its home turf
• The Panthers are led in scoring by Bertin Jacquesson with 4 goals and 11 points on the season
• Goalkeeper Joe van der Sar holds a save percentage of .742 this season while conceding an average of one goal per game and posting four shutouts

ON THE HORIZON

The Cavaliers return home to Klöckner Stadium for a match with No. 13 Denver on Tuesday (Oct. 4). Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.