Virginia Hosts No. 1 Wake Forest Friday
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Virginia men’s soccer team (4-1-1, 1-0-1 ACC) is set to host No. 1 Wake Forest (4-0-3, 0-0-1 ACC) at Klöckner Stadium on Friday (Sept. 19). Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
How to Follow:
Friday night’s match against Wake Forest will air on ACC Network 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).
Friday night’s match against Wake Forest will air on ACC Network 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:
- Virginia is set for its third consecutive matchup with a top-10 opponent – all three count as ACC matchups
- The last time UVA faced three straight top-10 foes was in 2022 when Virginia went 2-1-1 against No. 3 Syracuse, No. 10 Pitt, No. 10 Denver and No. 2 Duke.
- UVA enters the match coming off back-to-back results against top-10 opposition (T, 2-2 at No. 8 VT/W, 1-0 at No. 6 Louisville)
- Virginia head coach George Gelnovatch enters his 30th season at the helm. He has amassed a record of 386-164-75 and guided the program to a pair of NCAA titles and four ACC championships.
Against Top-Ranked Sides
- The Cavaliers have faced off with the No. 1 team in the national poll on 21 occasions dating back to 1980. UVA is 8-8-5 in those matches.
- Virginia last upset the nation’s top-ranked team with a 3-1 win over Clemson in the 2019 ACC Championship game. That victory marked the second over a No. 1 team that season as UVA had previously toppled No. 1 Maryland in September at Audi Field.
- The last time Virginia welcomed the nation’s top team to Klöckner Stadium was in 2018 when No. 6 Virginia fell to No. 1 Wake Forest 3-2.
- Virginia has matched up with a top-ranked Wake Forest side on five occasions. The Cavaliers are 2-2-1 in those matchups.
Results Against Top-10 Opposition
- Virginia is set for its third straight ACC match against a top-10 opponent.
- The last time UVA opened ACC play with back-to-back road matches against top-10 foes was in 2000, when No. 11 Virginia posted a 2-0 win at No. 5 Wake Forest before defeating No. 10 North Carolina 3-1 in Chapel Hill.
- The Cavaliers hold a record of 95-76-39 against top-10 opposition all-time
- Since the start of 2022, Virginia has recorded 12 results (wins or draws) against top-10 opponents with seven of those results coming on the road:
| Result | Opponent | Date |
| W, 1-0 | at No. 3 Syracuse | 9/24/22 |
| W, 3-1 | at No. 10 Pitt | 9/30/22 |
| T, 0-0 | vs No. 2 Duke | 10/7/22 |
| T, 2-2 | at No. 3 Syracuse | *11/9/22 |
| T, 1-1 | vs No. 9 Marshall | *11/20/22 |
| T, 1-1 | at No. 9 JMU | 9/12/23 |
| W, 3-0 | vs No. 8 Louisville | 9/29/23 |
| W, 1-0 | vs No. 10 UNC | 10/27/23 |
| W, 1-0 | vs No. 8 JMU | 10/8/24 |
| W, 2-0 | at No. 9 Pitt | 11/10/24 |
| T, 2-2 | at No. 8 Virginia Tech | 9/5/25 |
| W, 1-0 | at No. 6 Louisville | 9/13/25 |
*Opponent advanced on penalties in postseason play
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.
MEDIA AVAILABILITY: George Gelnovatch 9.17.25