The stakes are clear for the No. 2 Virginia men's soccer team as it travels to College Park for tonight's game against Maryland.
A win over the No. 6 Terrapins would clinch the ACC regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament for the Cavaliers (10-1-2, 5-0 ACC). A loss would drop Virginia into a first-place tie with Maryland (10-3-0, 4-1 ACC) and make the Cavaliers' final two conference games -- at home against No. 13 Virginia Tech and away at No. 17 Wake Forest -- absolutely critical in determining the final regular season standings and the ACC Tournament seedings. A tie tonight would keep Virginia in the driver's seat of the conference standings but also would leave a window of opportunity open for the Terrapins and the Hokies (2-1-2 ACC).
Virginia's players recognize the implications of tonight's matchup.
"This is a huge game," sophomore defender Matt Poole said. "This is definitely the toughest remaining obstacle and is the biggest game that we have left in the regular season."
To come away with a victory in College Park, the Cavaliers likely will have to contain Maryland's prolific leading scorer, Jason Garey. Garey, a senior, scored 22 goals in 2004 and already has notched 13 goals in the 2005 campaign. Garey is tied with N.C. State's Aaron King for the conference lead in goals scored. The Louisiana native is a familiar foe in the eyes of Virginia coach George Gelnovatch.
"He's one of the top strikers in the country," Gelnovatch said. "We have to be aware of him and his strengths and weaknesses as they are. We dealt with him in the ACC Championship last year, so it's not like we don't know who he is."
In Virginia's 2-1 victory over Maryland to capture the 2004 ACC Tournament crown, Garey scored the Terrapins' lone goal in the 63rd minute when he headed in a pass from Chris Lancos. This year, Lancos and Garey are part of a six-man senior class that provides leadership for the Terrapins. Garey also was credited with an assist in Maryland's 1-0 regular season victory over the Cavaliers in Charlottesville a little more than a week before the championship game rematch. But Gelnovatch expressed confidence that his defense can stifle Garey's scoring prowess.
"For us, he's somebody we're paying attention to, but we're not changing our strategy because of him," Gelnovatch said. "We're not man-marking him or doing anything out of the ordinary. Our backs have two months of seasoning now, so I think we know how to deal with players like [Garey]."
Poole echoed his coach's statement.
"We'll play him like we play any other forward," Poole said. "We're not going to single him out or anything, but we'll keep an extra eye on him. We'll let them worry about us and not so much worry about them. We're doing well in the ACC so we shouldn't change anything."
Maryland has a perfect 7-0-0 record at home this year. The Terrapins' only conference loss came Sept. 25 when N.C. State shut them out, 1-0. Maryland also lost 4-0 at UCLA and 1-0 at Penn State. Last Friday, the Terrapins welcomed a reeling North Carolina squad to Ludwig Field and dominated the Tar Heels 4-1.
"This game will be especially tough because it's on the road," Gelnovatch said. "Any ACC opponent is a tough one, but to play an opponent like Maryland on the road makes it an even more difficult game."
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