No. 8 Virginia Hosts Notre Dame Friday
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The No. 8 Virginia men’s soccer team (7-1-2, 3-0-2 ACC) is set to host Notre Dame (7-2-3, 2-1-1 ACC) at Klöckner Stadium on Friday (Oct. 10). Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
How to Follow:
Friday night’s match against Notre Dame will Stream on ACC Network Extra 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 Notre Dame will Stream on ACC Network Extra 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:
- The Cavaliers are set for their 21st meeting with Notre Dame all-time.
- UVA holds a 9-8-4 record against the Irish overall, and a 5-1-2 record at home
- Since the start of 2022, UVA has gone 14-3-5 in October for a winning percentage of .738
- 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.
October Hoos
- UVA has been impressive in the later stages of the regular season in recent years. Each of the last three seasons has featured lengthy hot streaks in late autumn.
- Since the start of 2022, UVA has gone 14-3-5 in October for a winning percentage of .738
- The 2022 season featured an eight-game unbeaten run (3-0-5) that started on Oct. 7—Virginia played six top-25 teams over that stretch before going on to earn the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA tournament.
- Virginia tore off a 10-game unbeaten run (7-0-3) in 2023 en route to the No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament.
- The team won five consecutive games in 2024 and six of its last seven on its way to the No. 11 seed.
Clicking Up Front
- Virginia’s pairing of Nick Simmonds and Marco Dos Santos has been productive combining for 13 goal involvements between them.
- Dos Santos leads the ACC averaging .700 assists per game – that total ranks eighth in NCAA Division I.
- Simmonds leads the ACC with four goals in league games this season.
Results Against Top-10 Opposition
- Virginia was tested early with a run of three consecutive matches against opponents ranked in the nation’s top-10. The Cavaliers went 2-0-1 against No. 8 Virginia Tech (T, 2-2), No. 6 Louisville (W, 1-0) and No. 1 Wake Forest (W, 6-3).
- The stretch marked the first time UVA matched up with three-straight top-10 opponents since 2022 when Virginia went 2-1-1 against No. 3 Syracuse, No. 10 Pitt, No. 10 Denver and No. 2 Duke.
- 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.
- UVA then went on to topple No. 2 NC State (W, 1-0) on the road.
- The Cavaliers hold a record of 97-76-39 against top-10 opposition all-time
- Since the start of 2022, Virginia has recorded 14 positive results (wins or draws) against top-10 opponents with eight 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 |
| W, 6-3 | vs No. 1 Wake Forest | 9/19/25 |
| W, 1-0 | at No. 2 NC State | 10/5/25 |
*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.