The Virginia men's soccer team has never lost to Virginia Commonwealth University. The Cavaliers have dominated the teams' all-time series with a record of 19-0-1. In their game tonight against the Rams at Klöckner Stadium, Virginia (8-8-0, 3-3-0 ACC) will look to extend the undefeated streak and close its regular season record over the .500 mark.
This evening's contest will conclude the Cavaliers' regular season. A victory would give Virginia momentum as they head in to the ACC tournament, which starts next Wednesday.
Yet despite both the quickly-approaching postseason and the Cavaliers' pattern of success over VCU (13-4-0), the Cavaliers will not overlook tonight's match.
"It is our season," junior defender Jeff Tuman said. "We have to win this game."
The Rams have won five straight, and 10 of their last 11 matches. Most recently, VCU shutout UNC Wilmington in Richmond last Saturday, 4-0. Three seniors covered the scoring for the Rams -- forward McColm Cephas found the back of the net twice, and midfielder Matt Pauls and defenseman Cristian Neagu each contributed a goal. Neagu also assisted Cephas' first goal.
VCU is No. 9 in the NSCAA national rankings and No. 12 in the College Soccer News poll. Virginia is not currently in the top-25.
The Cavaliers have lost their last two games, with their most recent action coming against Maryland last Friday. Virginia dropped a hard-fought 1-0 decision in College Park. With the victory, the Terrapins clinched their first ACC regular season championship since 1971.
The game was a defensive, gritty battle. Freshman goalkeeper Ryan Burke made an impressive eight saves.
"He made a lot of great plays. The future is really bright," Coach George Gelnovatch said.
The one shot Burke allowed past him determined the outcome of the game. Maryland's goal was scored by sophomore forward Jason Garey, who headed the ball past Burke off an assist from senior forward A.J. Herrera.
The Terrapins controlled offensive possession throughout most of the 90 minutes. They outshot the Cavaliers 20-8. Virginia was led on offense by freshman midfielder Will Hall, who recorded the teams' only shot on goal.
The 2,245 rowdy fans at Maryland's Ludwig Field did not help Virginia's case. They taunted the Cavaliers throughout the entire match.
"They were pretty ruthless," Burke said. "I can't repeat a lot of what they said."
The health of the team and the level of experience are two factors that may influence the outcome of tonight's game with VCU. Most notably, the Cavaliers have missed the play and experience of senior defenseman Matt Oliver, who has been nursing an injury.
"Matt's a huge part of our defense," Tuman said. "We miss him but we just have to keep plugging away without him until he gets better."
Kickoff for today's game against the Rams will be at 7 p.m. Virginia has outscored VCU 91-8 in the all-time series, and they will look to increase that margin tonight.
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