The No. 4 Virginia men's soccer team has not allowed a goal in six games. No. 11 Clemson has won seven straight games. At least one of those streaks will have to end tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at Klockner Stadium when Virginia hosts the Tigers.
The undefeated Cavaliers (9-0-1, 3-0 ACC) have not been scored upon since giving up two goals on Sept. 9 to Creighton - a span of over 562 minutes. The team is coming off its eighth consecutive victory, including a 1-0 win over VCU last Saturday. Junior goalkeeper David Comfort recorded his fifth shutout of the year and junior forward Ryan Gibbs scored the team's lone goal, his fifth of the year, in the victory.
Clemson (8-2, 1-0) also comes in hot, after it routed Wofford College, 5-0, on Wednesday. The Tigers dominated the game, outshooting Wofford, 24-2, and extended their winning streak to seven. Forward Fabio Tambosi and defenseman Oguchi Onyewo both scored twice to lead Clemson.
"We know Clemson," Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. "They know us. We're no strangers to each other."
ACC assist-leader Kyle Martino has been the anchor of the Cavalier offense this season with three goals and seven assists. Gibbs and sophomore forward Alecko Eskandarian lead the Cavaliers with five goals apiece.
Defensively, the Cavaliers will have to contain Tiger forwards Dimelon Westfield and Ian Fuller, who lead Clemson with five goals.
"We're just going to approach it like any other game, especially an ACC game," Gibbs said. "We want to win. We want to place first in the ACC."
The game will feature the top two goalkeepers in the ACC. Virginia's Comfort leads the conference with a goals-against average of 0.75. Virginia has recorded six shutouts on the season so far, allowing only seven goals in ten games.
Compiling a 0.77 goals-against average, Clemson goalkeeper Doug Warren does not trail Comfort by much. Warren has allowed only one goal in his last four games, being scored upon by No. 13 South Carolina in a 2-1 Clemson victory Sunday.
Nevertheless, Gelnovatch is not concerned about tailoring his game plans to Clemson.
"I like to think there isn't anything special to prepare for," Gelnovatch said. "I like to think teams have to prepare for us rather than us getting ready for them"
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