Virginia Nets a Pair in Shutout Win Over San Diego State

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The No. 17 Virginia men’s soccer team (1-0) earned an emphatic 2-0 win over San Diego State (0-1) to kick off the 2025 season. The opening match featured debut goals and assists from three different Cavaliers on Thursday night (Aug. 21) at Klöckner Stadium.  

Goals (Assist)
21’ – Gashi (Dos Santos, Simmonds)
82’ – De Vicente (Burns) 

How it Happened:  

• Virginia dominated the game from the opening whistle, outshooting the Aztecs by a margin of 18-2 on the night. 

• The Cavaliers broke through in the 21st minute with a goal that materialized in an instant. Virginia’s pair of newcomers, Nick Simmonds and Marco Dos Santos combined in the midfield before playing Albin Gashi into the box who slotted the ball into the far corner for 1-0.  

• The Virginia attack continued to pour on the pressure in search of a second goal as Simmonds, Dos Santos and Brendan Lambe all came close to finding the back of the net.  

• The Cavaliers broke through in the 82nd minute when Luke Burns played a corner short to Marco Dos Santos. Burns received a return pass inside the box and found Jesus De Vicente in the center of the penalty area who lifted the ball into the top corner to seal the game.  

With the Win: 

• The Cavaliers have won three consecutive season openers 

• Virginia has kept three consecutive clean sheets in season openers 

• The Cavaliers improve to 23-7 in season openers under head coach George Gelnovatch. 

• Virginia improves to 1-0 in the all-time series with San Diego State

Additional Notes:  

• Gashi’s goal marks the fifth of his career 

• Jesus De Vicente scored his first goal as a Cavalier on his UVA debut.  

• This marks the second consecutive season in which a Cavalier netted a debut goal (Nick Dang vs Rider, 8/22/24) 

• Marco Dos Santos and Nick Simmonds each netted assists on their Cavalier debuts 

• The Cavaliers outshot San Diego State 18-2 

• UVA placed seven shots on goal compared to the Aztecs’ one 

From Head Coach George Gelnovatch
“They’re a very organized, physical, and direct but can cause you all sorts of problems. We did ourselves a favor by scoring in the first half. That was a really important and of course, getting the second one is really, really important. This was a very tricky team to play, and this is a really good win.”  

Up Next:
The Cavaliers will be back in action on Sunday (Aug. 24) when they host Stetson at Klöckner Stadium. Kickoff at is set for 7 p.m. on ACCNX.