Simmonds Nets Hat Trick in 4-0 Win over Clemson

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Nick Simmonds delivered a seven-point offensive masterpiece as No. 11 Virginia (9-1-4, 4-0-3 ACC) rolled past Clemson (8-4-2, 4-2-1 ACC), 4–0, on Saturday night (Oct. 25) at Klöckner Stadium. The freshman netted three goals to log the program’s first hat trick since 2012 — and the first by a UVA freshman since 2009.

Goals (Assist)
4’ Virginia – Simmonds (De Vicente, Pelà)
15’ Virginia – Dos Santos (De Vicente, Simmonds)
24’ Virginia – Simmonds (Gashi)
77’ Virginia – Simmonds (Parvu)

How it Happened:

• The Cavaliers wasted no time opening the scoring, netting their quickest goal to open a match this season in just the fourth minute. Jesus De Vicente picked out Simmonds just outside the 18-yard box. Taking a touch to set his feet, Simmonds unleashed an effort from distance that flew into the top corner to put Virginia on top early.

• Just 10 minutes later, the Cavaliers doubled the lead. Simmonds directed the ball out to De Vicente on the wing who played a long, curling pass that skipped to the feet of Marco Dos Santos. Taking a touch around the keeper, he rolled his chance into the back of the net for 2-0.

• Virginia stretched its lead to three in the 24^th minute when Albin Gashi made a sliding effort to keep possession and play the ball to Simmonds outside the penalty area. After a clever touch around his defender, he tucked his chance inside the far post to secure his second multi-goal game of the season.

• Simmonds secured his hat trick in the 77^th After an impressive run through the penalty area, Alex Parvu send a low ball across the face of goal where Simmonds was there to tap it home for 4-0 and mark the first UVA hat trick since Will Bates in 2012.

With the Win:

• The Cavaliers extend their unbeaten streak to 11 straight games
• UVA remains unbeaten at home with a record of 7-0-4 at Klöckner Stadium
• Virginia improves to 31-25-6 in the all-time series with Clemson
• The Cavaliers improve to 5-0-1 when scoring at least two goals this season
• Virginia is 15-3-7 in the month of October since the start of 2022

Additional Notes:

• Nick Simmonds became the first Cavalier to record a hat trick since 2012 (Will Bates, 9/11/12)
• Simmonds is the first UVA freshman to record a hat trick since 2009 (Will Bates, 11/22/09)
• Simmonds leads the team in goals (8) and points (19) this season
• Marco Dos Santos scored his first goal as a Cavalier
• Umberto Pelà marked his third consecutive game with an assist
• Jesus De Vicente marked his second multi-assist game of the season, the fifth of his career
• Virginia recorded its seventh shutout of the season
• Casper Mols recorded his sixth solo shutout of the season
• Brendan Lambe made played 13 minutes and made his first appearance since suffering an injury on Aug. 28 

From Head Coach George Gelnovatch:
On the team’s performance…
“Both teams are very good in transition. By limiting [Clemson] in transition, we created our own transitional moments and capitalized on the very first three. So, that dynamic put an edge on the game which gave us a good advantage.”

On Nick Simmonds:
“It’s hard to come in here, have two weeks of preseason as a first year, and all of a sudden score goals. He had a whole spring here, he’s a really talented guy, and we have a really good team. When you put all of that together, you’ve got a guy that’s scoring a lot of goals.”

From Nick Simmonds:
“The last UVA player to score a hat trick was Will Bates and he was my U-15 coach. I’ll definitely shoot him a text after the game…I knew he had the last hat trick and it was a goal of mine to break it… All my family is here supporting me, extended and immediate. I love all of them, and to have their support means the world to me. I wouldn’t be here without them.”

Up Next:
The Cavaliers will be back in action on Friday (Oct. 31) when they travel to Dallas, Texas to take on SMU. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on ACCNX.