Virginia men’s soccer took down Rider 3-0 Thursday, delivering a victory to Klöckner Stadium to kick off a new season of soccer for the Cavaliers (1-0, 0-0 ACC). Earlier this offseason, a slew of transfers and freshmen were added to replace several key contributors who had departed for the professionals. Junior defender Nick Dang, a Lipscomb transfer, got a spot in the starting lineup and made a significant impact, consistently disrupting the Broncs (0-1, 0-0 Metro). Excluding goalkeepers, Dang tied for the team lead with an incredible 87 minutes played. Combined with talented returners, these new-look Cavaliers blended well en route to a comfortable win where they were in control the entire game.
Opening the match on defense, sophomore midfielder Brendan Lambe quickly forced a Rider turnover and gave Virginia’s offense a chance to strike. The Cavaliers would hold the ball almost exclusively for the first several minutes before Rider was able to push the ball down the pitch. The Broncs fired back-to-back shots on Virginia’s goal around the 40-minute mark, with a near-brace clanging off of the post and barely missing the net.
The Cavaliers then successfully defended a corner kick and almost regained offensive momentum before a foul was called on senior defender Paul Weise, giving a free kick to Rider. Once again, senior goalkeeper Joey Batrouni held strong. Both teams would then continue to exchange brief possessions.
Storming down the pitch, fifth-year midfielder Daniel Mangarov and junior defender Reese Miller passed back and forth until Miller kicked a perfect pass to Mangarov, who scored the opening goal at the 36-minute mark. The veteran Mangarov has tallied Virginia’s first goal of the season three years in a row.
One minute later, the Cavaliers developed another promising attack before an offsides call quelled momentum. At the 33rd minute, Lambe nearly tallied his first career goal before junior goalkeeper Adam Salama stymied the shot.
Just inside the 30-minute mark, an ambiguous foul called against Virginia gave another free kick to the Broncs — but the shot was ferociously rejected by Virginia’s defensive wall. Back on offense, Mangarov nearly registered a second goal in the 23rd minute, but it was blocked by Salama.
Three minutes later, Rider’s attack was halted by an offsides penalty. The Cavaliers and the Broncs continued to exchange extended but fruitless possessions with a handful of penalties sprinkled in.
Virginia did earn a corner kick at the 14-minute mark, but Weise was not able to capitalize. Sophomore forward Cesar Cordova rebounded with a shot on goal that was blocked, and Mangarov then fired a shot that narrowly missed as well, but the Cavaliers received another corner kick. Weise’s attempt was blocked again, and Virginia went back to work on defense.
Almost immediately after regaining possession, Rider gave the ball right back to Virginia after committing a foul. The Cavaliers nearly found themselves with another pristine goal opportunity but lost possession after being called offside.
With 34.3 seconds left in the first half, senior forward Kome Ubogu netted Virginia’s second goal of the evening to take a 2-0 lead. The senior has been a staple off of the Cavalier bench, with 12 career goals.
At halftime, Virginia had complete control over the Broncs. Rider had already committed a whopping 13 fouls, and the Cavaliers also made Salama’s day quite busy by firing seven shots at the junior. Meanwhile, none of Rider’s three shots were registered as shots on goal.
The early minutes of the second half fared rather similarly to most of the first half. A few penalties and lengthy possessions but not too much action despite several corner kicks.
On a corner kick inside the 38th minute, Dang was able to corral the rebound off of a Bronc defender for a second corner opportunity. Unfortunately, Virginia was unable to extend the lead, but they would continue dominating the time of possession.
A few minutes later, a yellow card was issued to Rider on graduate midfielder Andrew Erickson — giving Virginia yet another free opportunity offensively. A few minutes later, the Broncs were given another yellow card for excessively chasing a ball out of bounds and yelling at the Cavaliers. This time, the penalty was courtesy of junior midfielder Momo Diop.
In the 27th minute, the Broncs had their best opportunity in ages — a free kick on Batrouni. But right on cue, Virginia’s defense shut Rider down. Two minutes later, the Broncs were denied a goal again on another free kick attempt.
The Cavaliers would later come a few feet away from a third goal, but they were called offside, and the scoring opportunity was negated. Throughout the next several minutes, Virginia kept the pressure on Rider through a series of near-goals.
The Broncs came close to a goal around the eight-minute mark, but Batrouni made an incredible save to keep his scoresheet clean. Play then briefly stopped as Diop fell to the ground and laid there as several Rider players clamored for a foul call, but no foul was called after a short delay. Diop got off the ground and continued to play, showing no sign of serious injury.
Bronc complaints reached a breaking point as sophomore midfielder Ezra Punselie was awarded a yellow card for excessive lobbying. The game would continue to be dominated by the Cavaliers, as Dang quickly scored his first career Virginia goal to create a 3-0 lead with six and a half minutes remaining.
Punselie found himself close to a second yellow card, as he yelled at an official after Rider was frustrated with another no-call. His complaint was followed up with a red card issued to Virginia freshman defenseman Alex Parvu, ending his Cavalier debut early.
Dang’s brace would be the dagger though, as Coach George Gelnovatch then pulled junior midfielders and captains Albin Gashi and Umberto Pelà, as well as Dang — signifying a game already won with four minutes left to play.
The Broncs’ last chance with less than two minutes to go was thwarted by Batrouni, and the game clock would expire soon after. Virginia left the pitch with a comfortable 3-0 victory despite Rider’s aggressive effort.
The Cavalier defense and midfield stood out Thursday, with Dang, Mangarov and Weise leading the way. Playing his first game as a member of the star-studded ACC, Dang in particular delivered a strong performance.
“It feels great,” Dang said. “This team is just a family, a brotherhood like no other. We are bonded through blood, it feels like. So, it’s great to always have guys that you play with and you know they’re going to fight with you no matter what.”
Up next, the 1-0 Cavaliers will take on Colgate at home as they look to continue their impressive start to the season. The game kicks off Sunday at 7 p.m. and can be streamed on ACCNX.
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