Cavaliers Fall to SMU 1-0 in ACC Tournament Final

CARY, N.C. – A penalty kick in the 57^th minute was the difference in lifting seventh-seeded No. 25 SMU (11-4-4) over top-seeded No. 4 Virginia (12-2-4) in the 2025 ACC Men’s Soccer Championship Final at First Horizon Stadium. The Cavaliers fell to SMU by a score of 1-0 on Thursday afternoon (Nov. 16) snapping a 14-game unbeaten streak dating back to August 28.

Goals (Assist)
57’ SMU – Soghomonian (Penalty)

How it Happened:

• The teams played nearly 16 minutes without a shot between them, but Cavaliers brought a spark into the attacking third when AJ Smith got on the end of a cross from Albin Gashi, but his attempt glanced wide of the post. Minutes later, Marco Dos Santos whipped a low cross into the six-yard box, but between the runs of Smith and Nick Simmonds.
• Virginia created another dangerous chance on the counterattack in the 40^th minute when Parker Sloan cleared a ball out of his own penalty area to the center circle where it was flicked on by Smith for Simmonds to run on, but his opportunity was cut off in the SMU penalty area.
• Just shy of the hour mark, SMU was awarded a penalty kick for a foul inside the penalty area. Casper Mols got his hand to the ensuing penalty but was unable to keep it out as the Mustangs took a 1-0 advantage.
• With just over seven minutes to play in the match, Stephen Hurlock left due to injury. With no substitution moments remaining, the Cavaliers played on with 10 men for the remainder of the match. Virginia earned a pair of free kicks deep in the attacking third but were unable to find the back of the net. 

Additional Notes:

• The loss snaps a 14-game unbeaten streak for Virginia
• The Cavaliers fall to 10-9-2 in ACC championship games (11 titles, 10 defeats)
• Virginia has appeared in 21 of 39 ACC championship games (54 percent)
• In 30 years under George Gelnovatch, Virginia has reached 15 ACC Championship games (5 titles, 7 defeats)
• The Cavaliers fall to 3-3-1 in ACC title games at First Horizon Stadium (4 titles, 3 defeats)
• Jesus De Vicente, Sebastian Pop, and Nick Simmonds were all named to the ACC All-Tournament Team
• Parker Sloan made his first start since Sept. 5 at Virginia Tech, Virginia’s ACC opener
• Brendan Lambe made his first start since Aug. 28 at George Mason
• Virginia controlled 58-percent of possession
• Neither team registered a shot attempt until the 16^th minute
• Neither team took a corner in the opening half and each took only one in the second
• SMU held a slight 7-6 advantage in shots
• Casper Mols made three saves

2025 All-Tournament Team
Slade Starnes, SMU (MVP)
Ryan Clanton-Pimentel, SMU
Martin Dominguez, SMU
Stephan Soghomonian, SMU
Jesus De Vicente, Virginia
Sebastian Pop, Virginia
Nick Simmonds, Virginia
Beau Morrison, California
Gaku Nishimura, California
Tim Brdaric, Syracuse
Tomas Hut, Syracuse

From Head Coach George Gelnovatch:
“Congratulations to SMU. They’re a good team. We knew that. This was a difficult game for us to lose on a pen like that. So, my heart goes out to our team, who I thought, similar to what I’ve said all season is that the longer we get through the first half and control the game, wear them down, get our goal or two, and that’s kind of how we’ve operated. That pen threw a wrench into the plan. Obviously, I’m worried about Stephen Hurlock with his injury. That was our last opportunity to make a change inside of 10 minutes. So we couldn’t replace him. We had to play down a man. I’ll also say it’s really hard to go into this postseason, meaning the NCAA Tournament, without setback. And today is a setback, which I hope, and think will reinvigorate us. I mean, I’m not sure if that’s what we needed, but I’m sure it will be a motivational thing, and we’ll be back here four weeks.”

Up Next:
The 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship bracket will be announced Monday (Nov. 17) prior to the first round of competition. The selection show is scheduled for 1 p.m. and can be streamed live on NCAA.com.