After a 2-1 win against the American Eagles last Saturday, the Virginia men's soccer team looks to extend its home win streak to five victories -- and and chalk up its third ACC victory when it hosts Maryland tonight at 7 at Klöckner Stadium.
The No. 20 Cavaliers (10-5, 2-3 ACC) are undefeated at home as they face the No. 5 Terrapins (12-3, 4-1). This game comes at a crucial point in the season -- it is the Cavaliers' only chance to go .500 in the ACC.
"It's the biggest game of the year," Virginia Coach George Gelnovatch said. "It's got to be our focus right now." The Terrapins are coming off a big win last Saturday, when they defeated sixth-ranked Clemson.
Maryland's top three scorers pose a threat to Virginia's defense. Sophomore forward Abe Thompson (7 goals), junior midfielder Sumed Ibrahim (7 goals) and junior forward Nino Marcantonio (5 goals) lead the Terps this season in goals scored.
The Virginia defense, anchored by junior Matt Oliver and senior Jonathan Cole, will need to link up to stop the Maryland offense. With help from Cole and Oliver, goalkeeper David Comfort and the rest of the team might be able to shut down the imposing Terps.
Virginia's offense will need to step up and score early goals, which junior forward Alecko Eskandarian proved possible with his goal just nine seconds into play against American.
Senior midfielder Kenny Arena is recovering from an injury received earlier in the season, but still will be called upon in this pivotal contest.
"I just try to give the team as much as I can," Arena said. Tonight, Arena will need to control the flow of the midfield and feed an offensive attack.
"When he isn't in there, we're not as good," Gelnovatch said. "He's got a presence about him, a physical presence. And he's also got leadership qualities."
Eskandarian will be focused on the game, but something else may be running through the back of his mind. This all-star player has the opportunity to break the Virginia season scoring record.
"Getting the record would be unbelievable," Eskandarian said. "When I'm on the field that stuff doesn't go through my head. When I'm on the field I'm just looking for spots to help my team, and this year shutouts have been really tough to get, so the more I score, the better for our team."
But the Cavaliers are on an upswing, seeing better play and better results than they have all season.
"We've played three games in six days against good teams," Gelnovatch said. "And we won all three games."
Although Gelnovatch feels his team is on their way to being great, he also recognizes that it haven't quite reached its full potential.
"I really feel like we're heading there, but I also told the team we're not there. It's not like we're world-beaters right now," Gelnovatch said.
Although this is one of the most important games of the season, Gelnovatch notes that this part of the season is good because "you want to see your team getting better, and we're getting better."
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