Think of the most dramatic possible way to end a regular season before the playoff tournaments begin. Hopefully it will include a packed stadium, an inter-conference rival and a team ranked just one spot lower nationally. And, for the home team, it could even be senior night.
That's exactly what tonight's game against Wake Forest will be for the Virginia men's soccer team. The No. 2 Cavaliers and the No. 3 Demon Deacons will be vying for first place in the final Atlantic Coast Conference standings. With the ACC playoffs beginning next week, the top three teams each have a chance to win the regular season title and get top seeding in the playoff tournament -- and all three finish their schedules on Friday.
The current conference leader is No. 5 Duke, (13-2-1, 5-1-1 ACC) which will play at No. 10 Clemson tonight. Both Virginia and Wake Forest fans will want to know the outcome of that game, as the schools are second and third in the ACC standings, respectively.
Duke currently has 16 points in the ACC standings, Virginia has 15 and Wake Forest has 13. A win is worth three points; a tie is worth one. The different scenarios for the final conference standings are numerous, but in order for Virginia to supplant the Blue Devils, they must defeat Wake Forest and Duke must either lose or tie. With a win, Duke will retain their current ranking and be the ACC regular season champions. If Duke loses and Wake Forest wins, the two teams will tie for the No. 1 spot.
Wake Forest is coming off a 1-0 home win against N.C. State, while Virginia is soaring after beating their in-state rival, Virginia Tech, on the road. The other match features Clemson, which tied their last game 1-1 at Boston College, against a Duke team that defeated North Florida 5-0 in a non-conference tune up.
Wake Forest has earned their No. 3 national ranking by playing a tough schedule, as has Virginia, but has played more road games than the Cavaliers. The Demon Deacons' only losses have come against Duke and Maryland, but they have proven their worth by taking scheduling risks and winning, with victories such as a non-conference win against ranked Connecticut on the road.
However impressive Wake Forest has been, the Cavaliers need not be intimidated; when playing against opponents ranked in the top three, Virginia is 2-0 this season, as they defeated then-No. 2 Clemson in late September and later beat then-No. 2 Maryland.
Virginia coach George Gelnovatch knows that his team has won the clutch games this season. However, he tries to remind his players that it is teamwork, and nothing else, that will pull them through.
"The team is going to win the big game, not the individual," Gelnovatch said. "The sooner we realize that, the sooner we take off."
One team's streak will end tonight, as Wake Forest is 8-0-0 in eight games away from Winston-Salem, while Virginia looks to cap off a perfect season at home. The Cavaliers are 11-0 in Charlottesville this season.
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