Returning to ACC play, the No. 12 Virginia men's soccer team looks to repeat last year's impressive showing at Chapel Hill against No. 5 North Carolina tonight at Fetzer Field.
Both teams head into the contest with momentum from non-conference victories. While Virginia improved its record to 6-2 (1-2-0 ACC) in a riveting double overtime 1-0 victory against VCU, the Tar Heels (6-1-1, 2-1-0 ACC) easily defeated Radford 2-0.
Although the Cavaliers lead the all-time series by a narrow 34-33-7 margin, winning the last two matches in the series, the Tar Heels are 2-0 this season against top-25 opponents with wins against N.C. State and Duke, to which Virginia fell three weeks ago.
UNC's only loss came against No. 2 Maryland, when a late goal lifted the Terrapins to a 1-0 victory in College Park. The Cavaliers have yet to face Maryland but are 3-0 on the road this year, including a 1-0 victory against then-No. 2 Wake Forest in Winston-Salem.
"We're confident, we've been good on the road," coach George Gelnovatch said. "To me, the trick right now is trying to recover. We played 20 extra minutes [against VCU] and we also played an ACC-caliber team. But I think this win puts us in a good mind-frame because we know we beat a good team."
Defensively, the two squads appear to be evenly matched. Virginia junior goalkeeper Diego Restrepo leads the ACC with a 0.50 goals against average, allowing only four goals while recording 14 saves.
Similarly, Tar Heel keeper Brooks Haggerty has given up only five goals for a 0.60 GAA, which is second best in the conference behind Restrepo. The two goalies are tied for the ACC lead in shutouts with three.
On offense, North Carolina leads the ACC with 18 goals in eight games, including four
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