The second-ranked Virginia men's soccer program has five national championships and 12 ACC championships in its history. When the Cavaliers (15-0-1, 6-0) host James Madison (10-4-1) tonight at 7 p.m. at Klockner Stadium, Virginia will be vying for its fourth undefeated regular season in school history.
Virginia is coming off its 14th consecutive victory, a 3-0 win over Maryland in which junior forward Ryan Gibbs scored his eighth goal of the season and junior goalkeeper David Comfort recorded his eighth shutout of the season.
The win gave Virginia a perfect 6-0 mark in ACC play for the first time in 15 years. The Cavaliers did not allow a goal in ACC play this year, outscoring opponents 11-0.
"We're going to play [against James Madison] as we always play," Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. "We've got to win the game. We are in a nice position, because [in] the game, there's some intrastate rivalry going on there between us and JMU."
With the ACC tournament next weekend, tonight's game will serve as a final tune-up to a rested team that has played only three games in the last 20 days.
"You want to keep your starters fresh too, your starting unit together and playing together," Gelnovatch said. "If there are guys that are hurt, maybe we do give them a rest, but I'm not going to rest guys that are healthy [and] take them out of the lineup."
The Dukes ride a five-game unbeaten streak into tonight after beating George Mason, 2-0, last Saturday to claim the Colonial Athletic Association regular season championship. The victory was the Dukes' third-straight shutout and their ninth of the season. A preseason top-20 team, James Madison fell from the polls after early season losses to No. 6 Wake Forest and No. 1 Southern Methodist.
The Dukes will have to deal with a high-octane Virginia offense that has scored 12 goals in its last three games. Sophomore forward Alecko Eskandarian has recovered from a mid-season groin injury to tie for second in the ACC with nine goals, despite only playing 12 games.
Gibbs has scored three goals and notched two assists in his last two games, but Virginia's overall scoring has been balanced with seven players finding the net in the last three games.
"We just have a big group of guys," Gibbs said. "From the first player to the ... 22nd player, they all can play anywhere in the U.S. on any top level team."
Defensively, the Cavaliers have given up only two goals in their last 12 games. With five goals apiece, senior midfielder Reggie Rivers and junior midfielder Ben Munro will try to lead the balanced James Madison attack.
The ACC tournament will start Thursday at Clemson, but Virginia will not play until Friday as a result of winning the ACC, which earned the Cavaliers a first-round bye.
Read More
Football lands three additional transfers
By Peter Kriebel | YesterdayOne common trait that stands out with this most recent batch of transfers is size.
Men’s basketball suffers road drubbing versus California
By Emory Huffman | YesterdayVirginia submitted another rudderless performance.
