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Virginia Hosts San Diego State in Season Opener Thursday

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The No. 17 Virginia men’s soccer team is set to commence on its 82nd season of competition when the Cavaliers welcome San Diego State to Klöckner Stadium on Thursday (Aug. 21). Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. The match will serve as the second half of a doubleheader with the Virginia women’s soccer team which takes on Xavier at 5:30 p.m.

Complimentary Admission
University of Virginia Athletics announced (July 1) that all men’s and women’s soccer, women’s lacrosse and softball regular-season home contests will no longer be ticketed and will be complimentary to the general public.

Former season ticket members encouraged to contact the Virginia Athletics Foundation (VAF) at 434-982-5555 to explore other philanthropic opportunities that align with their passions, make a meaningful impact and continue their support of UVA Athletics. Postseason athletic events for all sports may still be ticketed as dictated by the NCAA. VAF Priority Points determine one’s ranking when assigning season and single-game ticket(s) and parking locations for all home-ticketed athletics events, as well as for postseason athletics events for all sports.

How to Follow: 
Thursday night’s season-opener against San Diego State 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).

For Openers: 

  • Thursday’s meeting will mark the first meeting between Virginia and San Diego State.
  • Under head coach George Gelnovatch, Virginia is 22-7 in season openers overall and has won nine of it’s last 10 opening matches.
  • Gelnovatch enters his 30th season at the helm. Over his 29 seasons at UVA, he has amassed a record of 383-163-74. Gelnovatch has guided the program to a pair of NCAA titles and four ACC championships.

2025 Headlines

  • Virginia returns a pair of players selected in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft including Nick Dang (49th overall, RSL) and AJ Smith (78th overall, NYCFC)
  • An All-ACC Second Team and All-Tournament selection, Dang was Virginia’s leading scorer in 2024, and one of just three defenders in NCAA Division I to record six goals on the season.
  • The Cavaliers also return Reese Miller following a season-ending injury just six games into 2024. Prior to his injury, Miller accounted for a career-high seven points (3g, 1a) averaging 1.17 points per game as a left winger
  • Two of Virginia’s three captains in 2024 are set to return for their senior seasons: Umberto Pelà and Albin Gashi. Paul Wiese departs after four seasons with the seventh-most career assists in program history (27); his 10 assists in 2024 led the ACC.
  • The UVA team will feature a new goalkeeper after the departure of Joey Batrouni and Tom Miles. Casper Mols appears the most likely candidate for the job, a former first-team All-American at Kentucky.

The Virginia Standard

  • As an 11-seed in 2024, the Cavaliers earned a first round bye in the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive season.
  • UVA is one of just five programs to earn first-round byes in each of the last three seasons and is the only program that earned multiple top-eight seeds in that span.
  • The Cavaliers are coming off their second ACC Semifinal appearance in three seasons.

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