The Virginia men's soccer team will lace its cleats to play Pittsburgh tonight at 7 in Klöckner Stadium without the nation's leading scorer. Virginia junior forward Alecko Eskandarian, who has scored 21 goals so far this season, must sit out tonight's match after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season Friday against Maryland.
The No. 20 Cavaliers (11-5) hope to keep their perfect home record intact against a physical Panthers team (8-8-1). Pittsburgh has committed 50 more fouls than its opponents this season; Virginia, in contrast, has committed seven less fouls than its competitors.
The Cavaliers are riding high after a critical win Friday over No. 5 Maryland. Virginia's defense, anchored by goalie David Comfort's three saves, shut out the Terps' high-scoring offense and Eskandarian scored the game-winning goal to continue a four-game winning streak.
"I feel like everything they did, we had an answer for," Eskandarian said.
Virginia coach George Gelnovatch credited the Cavalier fans for their support this season, especially during Friday's game.
"It was a really great atmosphere," Gelnovatch said.
"The crowd really pulled us through the last 15 minutes," senior defender Jonathan Cole added. Many of the 2,474 fans that crowded into chilly Klöckner Stadium were on their feet throughout the intense second half.
But Pittsburgh's multi-faceted attack will challenge Cole and the Cavalier defense. Sophomore midfielder Marco Carrizales, senior midfielder Bryan Hopper and freshman forward Keeyan Young have tallied 16 of Pittsburgh's 19 goals this season. In addition, Hopper and Young have team-high three assists each.
Pittsburgh may look to its football team's recent upset victory over another Virginia school, Virginia Tech, for inspiration against the favored Cavaliers. The Hokies' 21-28 loss over the weekend to the unranked Panthers thwarted Tech's national championship dreams.
The Cavaliers' offense will miss Eskandarian sorely tonight. He leads the team in both goals per game (1.43) and points per game (3.14), and his latest goal against Maryland tied him for seventh all-time in career points (107) in Virginia men's soccer history.
"He strikes the ball better than anybody in college soccer," Gelnovatch said. "He's a big time player."
However, playing a decent Pittsburgh team without its star forward will pose a critical test for the Cavaliers. To advance past the initial rounds in both the ACC and NCAA tournaments, Virginia will need more offensive output from its midfield and from senior forwards Ryan Gibbs and Rob Wright, who have five goals each so far this season. Eskandarian, as talented as he is, cannot carry this team through the postseason by himself.
Tonight's match signals the end of regular season conference play for Virginia. The Cavaliers have one more out-of-conference game against Temple before the ACC tournament begins in Cary, N.C., Nov. 14.
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