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​Men’s soccer prepares for potent Boston College

Salandy-Defour boosts No. 10 Cavaliers in return from knee injury, Foss enjoying breakout season

Property of the Cavalier Daily,
Property of the Cavalier Daily,

The 10th-ranked Virginia men’s soccer team looks to build upon its two-game winning streak Friday night at Boston College.

The Cavaliers (7-1-2, 2-1-1 ACC) will take on the Eagles (7-3-1, 2-2-0 ACC) after fending off Louisville and Portland earlier this month by 3-2 final scores. Those victories came in large part due to the standout play of junior midfielder Patrick Foss, who racked up three assists and two goals between the two games.

“The social media exposure from the first couple of goals and then to follow it up with three assists was definitely a good couple of games for me,” Foss said.

Foss, who was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week Tuesday, is currently leading the team in points with seven. Although Foss only had one start last season, he has become a staple of the Virginia lineup.

“When [Foss] is on the field, he has always been a threat,” Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said.

Friday, Virginia will be challenged by a powerful Boston College offense. Led by forwards junior Zeiko Lewis and freshman Trevor Davock, who have four goals each this season, the Eagles average 1.82 goals per game. Facing Boston College will be a test for a Virginia defense that has struggled of late.

“Obviously, we’ve given up too many goals, especially these last couple of games,” Foss said. “We’ll look to tighten it up.”

On top of a stellar offense, Boston College will be playing at home. While the Eagles have lost two games at home in 2015, their stadium, the Newton Soccer Complex, is a turf field. This will be an adjustment for Virginia, as it is used to playing on grass fields, including in its very own Klöckner Stadium.

“[Boston College is] at home on turf — that’s probably their biggest advantage,” Gelnovatch said.

However, Virginia does have some things going in its favor for this game. Against Portland Monday, nine Virginia players were suspended for violating team rules, leading Gelnovatch to use only two substitutes. Tired and depleted, Virginia gave up two goals in the second half. All nine suspended players are returning Friday.

Additionally, an unsung hero returned from injury against Louisville and played in his first game since 2013: redshirt junior forward Marcus Salandy-Defour.

“Marcus is a guy who is a game-changer,” Foss said. “He brings something to the game that not many guys have in that he is unbelievably quick but also tactically very sound.”

While he missed all of the 2014 season and the first eight games of the 2015 season due to a knee injury, Salandy-Defour has had an explosive return. Scoring a goal against both Louisville and Portland, he has provided the Virginia offense with an additional burst of energy.

In order to defeat the Eagles, Virginia needs to defend better in the second half. While Virginia has only given up two goals in the first half this season, it has given up nine goals in the second half. The Cavaliers cannot continue to rely on their offense to build lasting first-half leads and cover up for lackluster second-half defense if they want to win against competitive teams such as Boston College.

With only four ACC games left before the postseason, each victory will help Virginia better position itself to receive a high seed in November’s ACC Tournament. Although Boston College has the same mindset, Gelnovatch has confidence in his team.

“We’ll be ready,” he said.

Kickoff against the Eagles is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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