The Virginia men's soccer team (12-3-2, 6-2-0 ACC) will begin its quest for a third consecutive ACC Tournament title Wednesday night in a match up with the Clemson Tigers (10-4-3, 2-4-2 ACC), scheduled for 8 p.m. at the SAS Soccer complex in Cary, N.C. The winner of the Virginia-Clemson game will face the winner of Wednesday's N.C. State-North Carolina game Friday evening at 8 p.m. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m.
Earlier this season, the Cavaliers traveled to Clemson for a Friday evening contest with the Tigers and emerged with a hard-fought 1-0 double overtime victory. Freshman forward Yannick Reyering scored the game-winning goal four minutes into the second overtime period. The turf at Riggs Stadium was barely playable that night because of the remnants of Tropical Storm Tammy, and the field's sogginess nullified Virginia's speed and fitness advantages. The game featured exceptionally physical play from both sides, and Virginia played most of the game with a one-man advantage after Clemson defender Jeff Routh received his second yellow card in the 31st minute of play.
Clemson finished its regular season Saturday with a monumental 3-1 upset over eighth-ranked Duke. The Tigers have won four matches in a row and have compiled a 5-0-2 record over their past seven games.
Virginia also enters the tournament with a positive vibe following Friday's 2-1 victory at Wake Forest. Senior midfielder Joe Vide scored the winning goal for the Cavaliers in the first overtime period.
"We're in great shape heading into the tournament," Vide said. "We have some momentum. We're excited, but we know we have a lot of work ahead of us. I'm looking forward to it."
The Cavaliers had dropped two straight conference games before defeating the Demon Deacons. Following Friday's victory, coach George Gelnovatch said his players would have only limited time to savor the win.
"We'll let them relax on the bus ride home," Gelnovatch said. "Then it's back to business."
One small area of concern for Virginia is the recently sluggish performance of Reyering. Against Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, Reyering has not had a single shot on goal, while accumulating only four shots total. Reyering, however, still leads the team with 11 goals. Cristman is second with seven.
"Yannick was a little bit off tonight," Gelnovatch said following the Wake Forest game. "That's why we put David Rosenbaum in there for a little bit in the latter part of the second half."
Monday, Reyering was named to the All-ACC first team and the All-ACC freshman team. Cristman was named to the All-ACC second team, as was sophomore midfielder Nico Colaluca.
Virginia has defeated Maryland in each of the past two ACC Tournament championship games. Last year, the Cavaliers defeated the Terrapins 2-1, with goals scored by Cristman and Jeremy Barlow. Barlow, then a freshman, was named the tournament MVP. He notched two game-winning goals and an assist while leading Virginia to its ninth men's soccer conference championship.
Since Gelnovatch took over the helm of the men's soccer program in 1996, Virginia has won three conference championships and has never lost in the first round of the ACC Tournament. The Cavaliers have played in the championship game eight times under Gelnovatch.
Read More
With last-second three-pointer, SMU silences men’s basketball
By Michael Liebermann and Thomas Baxter | 6 hours agoThe late shot crushed a bouncing arena.
With dominance and high hopes, women’s tennis opens the spring season
By Gracie Genereux | 7 hours agoA commanding opening victory set the stage for the season to come.
No. 6 women’s squash falls to No. 5 Stanford in first match of the new year
By Peter Kratz | YesterdayThe Cavaliers fall to 0-1 in conference play after their first clash with the Cardinal.
