Virginia Snatches 1-0 Win Over No. 8 James Madison

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — With a dramatic finish featuring late-game heroics from Umberto Pelà, the Virginia men’s soccer team (4-4-3, 1-2-2 ACC) broke through in the 90^th minute of action to secure a 1-0 victory over No. 8 James Madison (5-1-4, 1-0-1 SBC) on Tuesday night (Oct. 8) at Klöckner Stadium.

Goals (Assist)
90’ Virginia — Garcia Barelles (OG)

How it Happened:

• Virginia looked threatening 16 minutes in when a well-worked play down the left side of the field resulted in a low cross that was deflected out to Danny Mangarov. His attempt from inside the penalty area was blocked.
• The Dukes would respond with a dangerous chance of their own when JMU goalkeeper, Sebastian Conlon, punted a long ball past the halfway line for Evan Southern to collect creating a chance for the Dukes in transition. Jeffery Aguilar’s attempt sailed high of the crossbar and the half would end with nothing to separate the teams at 0-0.
• Virginia created another dangerous opportunity just minutes after the restart when Nick Dang got underneath a free kick from Mangarov. His header was deflected out for a corner kick.
• The Cavaliers continued to apply pressure, but were seemingly unable to break through as Brendan Lambe and Mangarov would each come close to breaking the deadlock.
• In the 68^th minute of play, a shot from Cesar Cordova at the top of the penalty area came off the arm of a JMU player as the referee whistled for a Cavalier penalty kick. However, after video review, the call on the field was overturned due to the defender’s arm being deemed in a natural position.
• As the clock ticked into the final minute of action, the Cavaliers recycled possession and geared up for one final attack as Lambe lifted a ball over the JMU back line for Pelà to collect. With one touch, the Cavalier captain put a low cross into the six-yard box where it deflected off JMU’s Enrique Garcia Barelles and into the net to lift UVA to a 1-0 win.

With the Win:

• The Cavaliers improve to 21-5-3 all-time against the Dukes
• Virginia logs its second victory in five days over a program ranked in the nation’s top-25
• UVA is now 2-1 on the season against the nation’s top-25 with a goal differential of +1 in those games
• The Cavaliers earned the program’s 13^th victory over a team ranked in the nation’s top-10 while being unranked themselves—this marked the fourth such victory in the past three seasons
• Virginia records back-to-back wins for the first time this season
• The Cavaliers are now 283-82-37 all-time against in-state opposition

Additional Notes:

• Virginia’s winning goal is its latest goal of the season
• The Cavaliers record their first win of the season when scoring only one goal
• Umberto Pelà made his first start after missing three games due to injury
• Virginia kept its third clean sheet of the season and its first in eight games
• The Cavaliers have conceded a goal or less in all but one game in 2024
• The two teams combined for nine yellow cards (UVA 4, JMU 5)
• Both teams were even in shot attempts as each managed 10 — Danny Mangarov led all players with six shots
• UVA put three shots on frame compared to JMU’s one

From Head Coach George Gelnovatch
“Overall, I would say these last two games were a little bit more reflective of our performances. You could see the will to win, drive, and the quality that we are used to. We got a good taste of that and put ourselves in a much better situation going to Boston College. JMU is a good team, and I think we’re getting our form and some guys back healthy. I think this was one of our better performances against one of the better teams we have played.”

Up Next:
The Cavaliers will be back in action on Friday (Oct. 11) when they travel to Newton, Mass. for an ACC battle with Boston College. Kickoff at is set for 7 p.m. on ACCNX.