CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s soccer team (1-2) is set to host FGCU (1-2) on Monday (Aug. 30) at Klöckner Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on ACCNX.
Admission to all Virginia men’s and women’s soccer matches is free.
How to Follow:
Monday night’s match against FGCU will be streamed on ACC Network Extra (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:
- Monday’s match will mark the first-ever meeting between Virginia and FGCU
- Virginia is looking to win its second consecutive game after opening the season with back-to-back defeats
- The Cavaliers have scored seven goals on the season spread out among six different goal scorers
- Virginia captain Brendan Lambe ranks fifth nationally and second in the ACC with three assists on the season
- After leading the team with 10 assists in 2025, Marco Dos Santos is Virginia’s leading goalscorer with a pair on the season
Last Time Out:
- The Cavaliers earned their first victory of the season, a 4-0 win over American at home.
- Freshman duo Prince Abanfo and Chase Duke combined for a goal, registering their first career goal involvements in their first career starts.
- AJ Smith opened his account for the 2026 season notching a goal and assist to match a career-high 3 points
- Marco Dos Santos scored his second goal of the season and leads the team in the category.
- Brendan Lambe set a career high with two assists, he leads the team with three on the season
- Spencer Sanderson made a pair of saves and kept the first clean sheet of his career
Noting the 2026 Cavaliers
- Virginia returns four players with 10+ starts in 2025 including Alex Parvu (RWB), Sebastian Pop (CB), Zach Ehrenpreis (LCB), and Marco Dos Santos (CAM).
- An All-ACC third team selection, Pop led the team playing all 1,720 minutes of the 2025 season.
- Dos Santos was third on the team in 2025 with 12 points (1g, 10a). Six of his assists came on game-winning goals, third most in a single season at UVA.
- The roster also features five players who played significant roles in 2025 including Brendan Lambe (CM), Bacary Tandjigora (CM), Sami Oulouheu (CM), Parker Sloan (CB) and AJ Smith (ST).
- Three transfers joined UVA in January including Arnold Matshazi (ST, San Jose State), Ethan Martinez (CDM, Sata Clara), and Peter Tolkin (CB/Butler).
- Virginia’s eight-player signing class was ranked fifth by Top Drawer Soccer and features Isaac Mwakatuya (D), Prince Abanfo (F), Chase Duke (F), Nate Young (D), Chase Gozdieski (D), Zeus Rankin (F/M), Emiliano Mercenari (F/M), and Diego Guerra (M).
The Virginia Standard
- In 2025, Virginia claimed the outright ACC regular season title and the top seed in the ACC Tournament for the first time since 2001 – UVA finished runners up in the ACC Tournament
- The Cavaliers ended last season on 18 points with an unbeaten 5-0-3 record in ACC play
- Head Coach George Gelnovatch was named ACC Coach of the Year in 2025
- As the No. 2 seed in 2025, the Cavaliers earned a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season.
- Virginia earned a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time in program history
- The Cavaliers are one of three teams in NCAA Division I to earn a first-round bye in each of the last four seasons (Stanford, SMU) – of those teams, Virginia is the only program to earn multiple top-four seeds in that span.
- Overall, Virginia and Georgetown are the only teams to earn multiple top-four seeds in that span.
- Virginia went 3-1-3 against ranked opposition in 2025 with four positive results over the top-10 including wins at No. 6 Louisville, No. 2 NC State and No. 1 Wake Forest
On the Horizon:
The Cavaliers will be back in action on Friday (Sept. 4) when they open ACC play against Boston College at Klöckner Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium on ACCNX.