The Virginia men's soccer team looks to end the regular season on a high note as it heads to Winston-Salem, N.C. to take on No. 17 Wake Forest (10-5-2, 1-4-2 ACC) tonight at 8 p.m. The No. 11 Cavaliers (11-3-2, 5-2-0 ACC) have lost their past two ACC games, including a tough 2-1 overtime loss to Virginia Tech last weekend.
A win tonight could be a huge rebound from that loss and provide a boost of confidence for the Cavaliers heading into the postseason. Also, a win could earn Virginia the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament, which starts Wednesday in Cary, N.C.
"After that frustrating loss to Virginia Tech, we've really turned our attention not just to Wake Forest but also to getting into a postseason mode," junior forward Adam Cristman said. "You have to be tough and put in just a little more effort."
Virginia is preparing for Wake Forest very seriously as its practices this week were more intense. Virginia coach George Gelnovatch seems to be trying to fuel the fire in his players.
"The intent of intensifying practices this week was to rattle their cages a little bit and elicit a response," Gelnovatch said. "This game is important, but so was Saturday's game against Tech and the Maryland game. This game is another big one."
If you expect for Virginia to score and win the game early, you may want to think twice. This season, Virginia has established itself as a second-half team. Out of the 29 goals the team has scored this season, only eight have come in the first half. Meanwhile, Virginia has scored 20 goals in the second half and one in overtime.
"There are a lot of first-half teams and a lot of second-half teams," Cristman said. "In the past few years, it seems we've been predominantly a second-half team."
Gelnovatch explains that one reason for this could have to do with the team's endurance and physical shape. By being more fit than their opponents, the Cavaliers are able to take control as other teams start to tire later in the game.
"As a team, we generally possess the ball more," Gelnovatch said. "In the first half, teams can keep up with us. But in the second half, as they get tired, that's one of the reasons that we score more goals in the second half."
Wake Forest currently sits seventh in the conference and can also improve its seed in the ACC Tournament with a win. The Demon Deacons have scored 32 goals this season and average 1.88 goals per game. Mark Ellington is their leading scorer with eight goals on the season, and Ryan Solle leads the ACC in assists. Wake faces a Virginia defense that has ten shutouts on the season and is third in the ACC in fewest goals allowed. Virginia's primary offensive threat is freshman forward Yannick Reyering, who is third in the ACC in scoring with 11 goals overall and an average of .79 goals per game.
"Wake Forest is a good team," Gelnovatch said. "They're going to come out to play and try to take it to us. I think this game is going to be fairly even in possession because they're good at that. They're going to try to push it forward. I hope that's going to benefit us because it opens the game up and gives it a bit more of a flow."
Virginia will look for some second-half magic to beat Wake Forest and head into next week's ACC Tournament as the No. 2 seed.
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