CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s soccer team (3-3-1, 1-0-0 ACC) is set to take on Wake Forest (4-2-1, 1-1-0 ACC) on Saturday (Sept. 19) at Spry Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on ACCNX.
How to Follow:
Saturday’s match against Wake Forest 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:
- The Cavaliers are set to take on Wake Forest for the 66th time in an all-time series that dates to 1980.
- Virginia is 14-6-4 against the Demon Deacons on the road.
- The last two meetings between the teams have featured a combined 15 goals.
- The last matchup in the series resulted in a 6-3 UVA victory over then-No. 1 Wake Forest. Sebastian Pop and Bacary Tandjigora both scored in the win while Alex Parvu recorded a pair of assists and Marco Dos Santos added another.
- The teams have evenly split the last three meetings with a win, loss and draw each. In eight meetings dating to 2019, Virginia is 5-2-1 against Wake Forest
Last Time Out:
- Virginia notched a 3-2 win over Liberty on Saturday, Sept. 12 at Klöckner Stadium
- UVA trailed by a goal early, but back-to-back goals from AJ Smith put UVA in front
- Prince Abanfo tacked on a third just before halftime – a goal that would eventually serve as the game winner
- Liberty pulled a goal back in the 69th minute
- Virginia’s Sami Oulouheu was shown a second yellow card forcing UVA to close the game down with 10 men for the final 3:30 of the game.
Smith Finding Form:
- Virginia striker AJ Smith has started all seven games of the season and already matched a single-season career high in goals (4) and points (9).
- Smith’s 2025 season saw him score four goals and one assist to total nine points over the course of 19 appearances and five starts.
- The Tyler JC product has had a knack for scoring in big moments with five of his 10 career goals coming in postseason play.
- Smith’s most impactful postseason moments include scoring the game-winning goal in the 2025 ACC Semifinal as well as a 1 goal/1 assist performance in a 2-1 win over West Virginia in the 2024 NCAA Second Round.
Noting the 2026 Cavaliers
- First-year forward Chase Duke has made five consecutive starts and recorded a pair of assists on the season
- Fourth-year captain, Brendan Lambe, leads the team with eight points on two goals and four assists
- Lambe’s four assists lead the team while his pair of goals are tied for the team lead
- Virginia has scored 14 goals on the season coming from eight different goal scorers
- In each of Virginia’s three defeats this season, the winning goal has been scored after the 80th minute
On the Horizon:
The Cavaliers will be back in action on Saturday (Sept. 25) when they travel to take on Stanford. Kickoff is slated for 10 p.m. ET at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium on ACCNX.