CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Cavaliers trailed early, but three consecutive goals including a first-half brace from AJ Smith saw UVA take the lead for good on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 12). Virginia (3-3-1) secured a 3-2 win over Liberty (2-3-1) at Klöckner Stadium.
Goals (Assist)
7’ Liberty – Sousa (Matavele, Gorman)
14’ Virginia – Smith (Pen)
38’ Virginia – Smith (Lambe)
43’ Virginia – Abanfo
69’ Liberty – Eguchi (Sousa)
The Cavaliers had an early opportunity to go in front five minutes into the game when Smith’s attempt from inside the 18-yard box was saved. Liberty took the lead minutes later when the Flames won a dual in midfield and broke quickly to open the scoring just seven minutes into the game.
Smith had the Cavaliers back on level terms in the 14th minute after converting from the spot off a penalty drawn by Alex Parvu. The Cavaliers then took the lead in the 38th shortly after an impressive one-on-one save by Caleb Tunks. Smith chipped the goalkeeper from 20 yards out to log the first multi-goal game of his career. The Cavaliers would take a 3-1 lead into the half after Abanfo snuck a chance inside the near post just two minutes before the break – a goal that would eventually serve as the game-winner.
AJ chips the goalkeeper for go-ahead goal!
— Virginia Men's Soccer (@UVAMenSoccer) September 12, 2026
He's on a hat trick 🔥#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/pP9YQT7zEB
Liberty pulled a goal back in the 69th minute when Eguchi found the back of the net from inside the box. With just over three minutes remaining in the game, Virginia’s Sami Oulouheu was shown a second yellow card forcing the Cavaliers to close out the game with just 10 men.
Additional Notes:
- AJ Smith recorded the first multi-goal game of his NCAA DI career
- Smith is the first Cavalier to record multiple goals in a single game this season
- Brendan Lambe logged his fourth assist of the season to lead the team
- Prince Abanfo scored his second goal of the season and the first game-winning goal of his career
- Virginia improves to 19-1-1 in the all-time series with Liberty
- Virginia recorded its first comeback win of the season
- UVA has recorded positive results from losing positions in two consecutive games
- Virginia has been shown four red cards in seven games this season
What They Said:
“That was a good win against a good team. There were some similar circumstances at the end of the game that we find ourselves in that I think are out of our control. But it was a hard-fought win, and in this situation, down a man, we close it out, as opposed to earlier in the year in similar situations, giving up a tying goal. So, I’m proud of that. And for big stretches of this game, until they got that second goal, we were in full control. Then momentum changed, and of course playing down a man changed things a little bit, but we dealt with it and got a win. So, I’m happy about it.”– Head Coach George Gelnovatch
“I think it was a super tough game. I mean, it was a good opponent, but I'm just happy we got the three points. I think we were the hardworking team at the end of the day, and we got the results…I think Caleb’s save in the first half was maybe an eye opener. We needed to be more focused in the game and more concentrated and we saw that happened. I think Caleb making a big save like that really shifted the whole game.” – AJ Smith
“It was a great game. We definitely fought hard and had a really unlucky call with the red card so we had to play a man down, but we really persevered through that. A huge credit to the boys for the way the worked through it.” – Caleb Tunks
Up Next:
The Cavaliers will be back in action on Saturday (Sept. 19) when they travel to Wake Forest for their first road contest of the season. Kickoff from Spry Stadium is set for 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).