The 2006 Atlantic Coast Conference men's soccer season is shaping up like a typical year in college basketball: most of the top teams in the country are from the ACC, and each team needs to win its home games in order to stay atop the rankings. For Virginia, the latter aspect is particularly important, especially with the implications of tonight's game against the defending NCAA champs, the Maryland Terrapins.
The last time the Cavaliers took the pitch, a talented Duke team managed to overcome Virginia's strong ball possession and won the game 2-1. The Blue Devils, an ACC rival and perennial foe, scored their first goal on a defensive lapse. Virginia forward Yannick Reyering tied the game, scoring his seventh goal of the season on a penalty kick in the 24th minute, but Duke added a second-half goal and sent Virginia home from Durham with an 11-2-0 record on the season.
The road has not been kind to the Cavaliers this season, as both of their losses have come in North Carolina. Prior to losing to Duke, the team lost 2-1 to the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill but defeated N.C. State 2-1 in Raleigh. It seems this plague of struggling to win away from home has carried over from last season. In 2005, four of Virginia's five losses took place outside Charlottesville, including a disappointing 3-0 loss to eventual national champion Maryland.
Tonight marks the rematch for these two teams, which again are both in the top 10. Maryland, which is currently ranked No. 2, played to a tie with North Carolina 1-1 in their last game. The Terrapins are 10-1-1 on the season, with their only loss coming at Clemson 2-1. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers have fallen to No. 6 in this week's poll and have been on somewhat of a rollercoaster ride through the top 10 in the rankings this year.
However, College Park's notoriously loud fans will not be as big a factor this year, as the game will be played on Virginia's home turf at Klöckner Stadium. Virginia coach George Gelnovatch knows the Terrapin fans will come to Virginia in numbers, though, and hopes Cavaliers fans do the same.
"I know that the Maryland fans are going to be there [tonight], and I challenge our students to be there and cheering," Gelnovatch said. "The attendance in the ACC has been unbelievable this year. They've had 5,000 to 6,000 people at most stadiums across the ACC. The crowd at that Clemson game was just incredible -- the atmosphere that they provided. It was really an inspiration to the team. I know it's a mid-week game, but I would really like to see our fans out there cheering hard."
Playing tonight's game at home is potentially a game-changing advantage for Virginia, as it was last year for Maryland. But, the coach knows the game still must be won on the field if the Cavaliers want to remain in the elite status.
"The way this conference is, every home game is essentially a must-win," Gelnovatch said. "Each and every game is so important going into the postseason, not only because of your conference record but [also] because of your national RPI."
The game, however, will not be won in the stands or on paper -- it will be won on the field, where the Cavaliers will have to be in peak form. Virginia has struggled in mid-week games this year but cannot afford to start sluggish tonight.
"The key with these mid-week games is getting that first goal and then keeping it on them and then the second goal puts them out of the game," junior midfielder Chris Tierney said.
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