Virginia Cavaliers Official Athletic Site
Open Search
Men's Soccer
Virginia Cavaliers Official Athletic Site
. Men's Soccer

Cavaliers Set for Smithfield Commonwealth Clash at No. 8 Virginia Tech

Game Notes
Watch (ACCNX)
Live Stats
Virginia Twitter
Virginia Instagram
Virginia Facebook
Get the UVA Sports App

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Virginia men’s soccer team (3-1) is set to open it’s ACC slate when the team takes on No. 8 Virginia Tech (2-0-1) at Thompson Field on Friday (Sept. 5). Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

How to Follow: 
Friday night’s match against Virginia Tech 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: 

  • Friday’s match will mark the 57th meeting between Virginia and Virginia Tech. Virginia holds a 44-6-6 record in the all-time series.
  • Virginia head coach George Gelnovatch enters his 30th season at the helm. He has amassed a record of 384-163-74 and guided the program to a pair of NCAA titles and four ACC championships.
  • Under Gelnovatch, the Cavaliers are 17-4-6 against the Hokies and have won each of the last three meetings.

Hoos vs Ranked Hokies

  • This is just the fourth meeting in 57 matchups where Virginia enters unranked against a ranked Virginia Tech team.
  • UVA is 1-1-1 in the previous three such meetings.
  • The most recent was last season, when unranked Virginia upset No. 19 Virginia Tech at Klöckner Stadium—its first win under those circumstances—sparking a five-game win streak that led to the No. 11 NCAA tournament seed.
  • Overall, Virginia holds a 4-2-3 record against ranked Virginia Tech teams (regardless of UVA’s ranking).

Dos Santos: Instant Impact

  • The Cavalier team has scored five goals in four games, each coming from a different player.
  • Boston College transfer Marco Dos Santos leads the team with three assists.
  • Dos Santos has been the primary assister on each of the goals he has set up. Additionally, each Dos Santos assist has set up a game-winning goal.

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.

The Smithfield Commonwealth Clash

  • The Smithfield Commonwealth Clash, originally called the Commonwealth Challenge (2005-2007), has been a part of the UVA-Virginia Tech rivalry since 2014. It is an all-sports, points-based program with the Commonwealth Clash trophy presented to the winning school each year for its dominance in head-to-head competitions.
  • This meeting will mark the first Commonwealth Clash event of the 2024-25 athletic season. Virginia won the competition in 2024-25.

Related Stories