No. 13 Virginia Opens 2024 Season Against Rider Thursday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Virginia’ mens soccer team is set to commence on its 81st season of competition when the Cavaliers welcome Rider to Klöckner Stadium on Thursday (Aug. 21). Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Hoos Holding Canned Food Drive

• Virginia is partnering with the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank on Sunday’s game to fight food insecurity
• The first 100 fans with a canned good donation at the gate receive a concession voucher for use at the game

How to Follow
Thursday night’s season-opener against Rider will be streamed on ACCNX which is available through the ESPN app and at WatchESPN.com for customers who have the ACC Network as part of their TV subscription. Links to both the broadcast and live stats are available at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates by following the program’s official Twitter account (@UVAMenSoccer).

Tickets Available
Single game tickets are also on sale with general admission tickets starting at $8 and reserved seats starting at $12. Concessions will be available at Klöckner Stadium for all home games and a clear bag policy is in effect. Outside food and drink is not permitted.

Notes on the Matchup

• Virginia’s season-opening match will mark the fourth all-time meeting between UVA and Rider.
• The Cavaliers own an unblemished record of 3-0-0 in the all-time series
• The last meeting between the programs took place in Klöckner Stadium in 2022 when Virginia cruised to a 4-0 victory—Daniel Mangarov and Kome Ubogu combined for five points in that match.
• Each of the other two meetings between the programs came in the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship.

Season Openers

• Under head coach George Gelnovatch, Virginia is 21-7 in season openers
• In their last 10 season openers, Virginia owns a 9-1 record

New Look Cavaliers

• The Cavaliers 2024 roster consists of 25 retuning players and 17 newcomers (nine transfers, eight freshmen).
• UVA’s returners feature a pair of outside backs Paul Wiese and Reese Miller as well as central midfielders Umberto Pela and Albin Gashi.
• Virginia’s transfers bring with them a wealth of college soccer experience to the table including Lipscomb transfers Hayes Wood (21g, 12a) and Nick Dang (First Team All-ASUN Defender).

The Virginia Standard

• Virginia recorded back-to-back five-win seasons (2022-2023) for the first time since 2005-2006
• The Cavaliers are the only team in the conference coming off back-to-back five-win seasons in ACC play
• In 2022, Virginia went unbeaten on the road in ACC play with a 3-0-1 record
• This season, the ACC features 15 teams with the addition of California, SMU and Stanford. 10 of those 15 have been ranked in the preseason top-25
• Virginia is the only team in NCAA DI coming off back-to-back top-eight seeds in the NCAA tournament
• UVA was the No. 4 seed in 2022, and the No. 7 seed in 2023
• The Cavaliers earned back-to-back top-eight seeds for the first time in the program’s history since a six-year run from 1997-2002—a run that started in George Gelnovatch’s second season as head coach

The Virginia Captains
George Gelnovatch announced a trio of Virginia captains ahead of 2024 in Paul Wiese, Albin Gashi and Umberto Pelà.

• Wiese enters the season with the most appearances in a Cavalier shirt of any player on the current roster (55). He comes off a season in which he led the team in assists (8) ranking fifth among all players in the ACC and eighth among defenders in NCAA Division I.
• Gashi has been a fixture of the UVA midfield since his arrival in 2022. Since his debut as a freshman in the 2022 season opener, he has appeared in 34 of Virginia’s 38 games while making 28 starts.
• Pelà comes of a breakout season in 2023. The sophomore made started the first 18 games of the season before missing Virginia’s third round match in the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship due to injury.