The seniors of the men’s soccer team could not ask for a more formidable opponent for their last home game. The Cavaliers will host No. 1 Wake Forest at Klöckner Stadium tonight for their senior night game. Wake Forest, whose lone blemish on its record is a double-overtime tie to Duke Oct. 18, comes into Charlottesville having already clinched the ACC regular-season crown and the top seed in the ACC Tournament.
While the defending national champion Demon Deacons (16-0-1, 6-0-1 ACC) have played nearly flawless soccer this season, Virginia (9-6-1, 4-3 ACC) has struggled of late. In last Friday’s 2-1 loss to Maryland, the Cavaliers outshot the Terrapins 9-4, dominating in possession time, but only managed to put one shot into the net, while the Terrapins capitalized on two of their three attempts on goal.
Despite good offensive ball-handling, Virginia has struggled to take advantage of its opportunities to score. Against the strong Wake Forest team, the Cavaliers will need to play nearly perfect offense if they hope to give the team’s seniors one last home win.
“We’re getting chances — it’s just a matter of scoring when we get chances,” junior midfielder/forward Neil Barlow said. “We’re not worried about creating chances because we know we can do that. But we’re young, and being able to score consistently is just something that comes with experience.”
Virginia, which hovered in the top 25 for a couple weeks before falling out in last week’s poll, has suffered some costly injuries throughout the season. After freshman forward Chris Agorsor was injured earlier this season against Central Connecticut State, freshman midfielder Tony Tchani, the Cavaliers’ leading scorer, went down with an ACL tear in an 2-2 draw with Longwood Oct. 21.
“It’s been a different year for the offense because of the injuries,” junior goalkeeper Michael Giallombardo said. “We’re searching for ourselves right now, but we have a lot of confidence in our guys.”
Meanwhile Wake Forest is playing phenomenal soccer in the always-competitive ACC. The team is averaging 3.53 goals per game while holding opponents to less than one per game. Of the team’s 16 wins, 12 have been by 2 goals or more.
Individually, junior goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald has recorded 10 shutouts while junior forward Cory Arnoux has recorded 13 goals.
Though the Demon Deacons have dominated their competition this season, Virginia is optimistic that it will ride the wave of excitement from senior night and play well in its regular-season finale.
“The team has a good feeling,” Giallombardo said. “Anytime the number one team in the country comes to town, it’s really important and we’re optimistic. When it gets closer to the post-season, coach [Gelnovatch] and [everyone] else just tightens up.”
A win would undoubtedly give the Cavaliers some momentum heading into the ACC Tournament. Currently third in the ACC standings, the Virginia players know what a win would mean for their postseason drive.
“A win would be a huge deal,” Barlow said. “It would lead us to the postseason with confidence.”
Though the thought of an upset on senior night is undoubtedly in the players’ minds, the team is trying to stay grounded and play well no matter what.
“It’s a big challenge but we’re approaching it the same way,” Giallombardo said. “A win will definitely help us, especially when it comes to the ACC Tournament. But we’re just looking at it like another ACC game.”
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