Boston is a city that houses some diehard fans. Both professional and collegiate sports are revered in Boston’s many arenas. Tonight, Virginia’s men’s soccer team looks to extend their six-game winning streak in the hostile Newton Campus Soccer and Lacrosse Field as they travel to Boston College.
Virginia (8-3, 4-0 ACC) has been on a hot streak lately. The Cavaliers have won their last six games, including five by shutout. Currently, they are ranked No. 14 nationally. Junior goalkeeper Michael Giallombardo currently leads the nation with a 0.167 goals against average. He has allowed just one goal this year in his 540 minutes of play. He has shut out the competition in five of his six starts, which happen to be the last six games the Cavaliers have played.
The Eagles (6-4-2, 2-2 ACC) are coming off a 2-1 win at Yale. They are currently last in the ACC in overall points, goals, assists and saves. Despite these dismal statistics, they are not last in the ACC standings. Virginia Tech and N.C. State are tied for that distinction, with each not yet having won a conference game. Boston College has only two ACC wins, one of which was an improbable 4-1 win against a strong North Carolina team.
Boston College may have an advantage in this game, and not just because of the home environment. Boston College plays on a unique field: sports turf. Sports turf is a new kind of turf that has thousands of tiny black rubber balls embedded in the field. It was designed to minimize injuries that can often occur on regular turf. While it helps minimize injury, it also affects how a soccer ball spins. Many soccer players report that the ball tends to feel different on sports turf and that can really make a big difference.
“They play on sport[s] turf,” senior defender Matt Poole said. “It’s not grass, and this will be the first time that I will have played on a non-grass field in my entire career.”
Poole said the team has been practicing on a turf field to prepare for the game, though he noted he is still uncertain how the ball will play off the surface, adding “It’s also going to be cold up, there so the dew will make the field really slick.”
Virginia will have to be mindful of the new field surface if it wants to continue its winning streak.
Last year, Virginia not only lost 1-2 to Boston College at home during the regular season, but the Eagles also knocked the Cavaliers out of the ACC Tournament with another close 1-0 victory against the Cavaliers in the tournament’s second round.
“We know that going to B.C. is going to be really tough,” Poole said Tuesday afternoon. “It was difficult last year. We’re just getting ready for Friday now.”
Virginia will need to keep an eye on junior forward Mor Avi Hanan, who had a game-high eight shots on goal in Boston College’s last home game against Iona. Before enrolling at Boston College, Hanan played for Israel’s Under-19 national team, recording seven goals and five assists during a 20-game span.
Additionally, Giallombardo will have some competition out on the field from Eagles’ senior goalkeeper Chris Brown. Brown notched his fifth win of the season, and the 24th of his college career, in Boston College’s last game. During the off-season, Brown was one of five goalkeepers to travel to an Olympic training camp in Florida, where he could see first-hand what is necessary to succeed at a high level. He also is ranked third on B.C.’s all-time list with a 0.91 goals against average and has a .708 save percentage in 13 ACC contests during his career.
“They’re always tough. It’s always tough to go into Boston and win,” sophomore forward Chase Neinken said. “It’s another conference game, and hopefully we’ll be able to build off of our momentum.”
Virginia faces off against Boston College at 7 tonight in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Read More
Virginia annihilated 41-14 in a must-win contest versus North Carolina
By Peter Kriebel | 11 hours agoJust about everything that could have gone wrong for Virginia football went wrong.
No. 24 women’s soccer not to be denied in late win over Clemson
By Sam Chun | 15 hours agoThe Cavaliers topped Clemson 1-0 in front of a packed out Klöckner Stadium.
Men’s soccer, totally discombobulated, capitulates early to No. 5 Pittsburgh
By Michael Liebermann | 17 hours agoPittsburgh set a program record for the quickest cluster of three goals.
