Virginia Upends Top-Seeded Pitt, Advances to ACC Semifinal

PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Lightning struck again in a 30-second window as Umberto Pelà and AJ Smith opened their scoring accounts as Cavaliers at Ambrose Urbanic Field on Sunday night (Nov. 10). Ninth-seeded Virginia (10-5-3) knocked off top-seeded Pitt (12-5-0) by a score of 2-0 to advance to its second ACC semifinal appearance in three seasons.

Goals (Assist)
68’ Virginia — Pelà (Mangarov, Wiese)
69’ Virginia — Smith

How it Happened:

• The Panthers controlled the majority of possession in the game’s opening 45 minutes. However, Virginia was resolute in its defending. Pitt held a 3-0 advantage in shots and took four corner kicks compared to Virginia’s one. The Cavaliers held their shape and did not concede a dangerous chance to the opposition as the teams entered the halftime break with the score knotted at 0-0.
• In the second half, the Cavaliers were deadly clinical with their chances. In the 68^th minute of play, Paul Wiese played a corner short to Danny Mangarov who whipped a ball in to the six-yard box where Umberto Pelà was there to head it home for 1-0. The goal marked Pelà’s first of his collegiate career.

• Just 27 seconds after the restart, Virginia’s AJ Smith collected a misplayed ball by the Pitt center back instantly igniting a transition chance. With only the goalkeeper to beat, Smith calmly slotted his attempt into the bottom corner of the goal to double the Virginia lead.

• With a two-goal advantage, the Cavaliers put forward an impressive defensive display in an effort to preserve a clean sheet against one of the nation’s top teams. In the 80^th minute, the Panthers landed the ball in the Virginia net, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Virginia would go on to secure the clean sheet and advance to the ACC Semifinal round.

With the Win:

• Virginia advances to the ACC Semifinal for the second time in three seasons
• The Cavaliers improve to 11-5-2 all-time against Pitt and hold a 2-1 edge in ACC tournament meetings
• Virginia improves to 48-20-14 all-time in the ACC Men’s Soccer Championship
• The Cavaliers have won eight of their last nine games including three on the bounce
• Virginia improves to 4-2 against ranked opposition in 2024

Additional Notes:

• Virginia scored two goals in a 30-second period for the second consecutive game
• Umberto Pelà and AJ Smith each scored the first goals of their Cavalier careers
• Three Cavaliers have opened their collegiate scoring accounts this ACC tournament after David Okorie scored his first in a 2-1 opening round win over NC State
• Paul Wiese notched his ninth assist of the season, a single-season high for the senior
• With his 26^th career assist, Wiese moves into sole possession of 7^th on the Virginia all-time assist list.
• Wiese has assisted in three consecutive games for Virginia
• Danny Mangarov notched his seventh assist of the season, the second highest total on the team
• David Okorie made his second start of the season
• The Cavaliers were outshot by a margin of 8-4 and took 2 corners compared to Pitt’s 10

From Head Coach George Gelnovatch:
“We had a plan coming into this game and part of that was to start well, remain tactically disciplined and take them out of their mojo. In the second half, that remained the same, but there was an emphasis on making better decisions with our chances and in one of those instances, we accomplished that scoring two great goals in the second half. Our team executed really well today and in the end, put in a really impressive defensive display to close out the win against one of the best teams in the country.”

Up Next:
The Cavaliers advance to the semifinal round of the ACC Men’s Soccer Championship and will travel WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. on Thursday (Nov. 14). The Cavaliers will take on Wake Forest (9-4-6) at 5:30 p.m. on ACC Network.