The No. 17 Virginia men’s soccer team dominated VCU (1-5, 0-0 A-10) en route to a 3-0 victory Wednesday night. The Cavaliers have a quick turnaround as they prepare to host their first conference matchup of the season with No. 6 Clemson visiting Charlottesville this weekend.
The Cavaliers (3-1- 1, 0-1 ACC) lost their first ACC game of the season 1-0 last Saturday, to a tough Wake Forest (4-1- 1, 1-0 ACC) team on the road, and will look to start the home portion of their conference schedule on a high note.
Virginia coach George Gelnovatch is looking forward to playing a tough ACC match at home, rather than on the road.
“First of all, it’s a home ACC game, so those are a lot better than away ACC games,” Gelnovatch said. “And again, we’re coming off a loss, on the road.”
The Cavaliers have had a strong start to the season and this weekend’s matchup with one of the top teams in the nation will be a great way for Virginia to assess where they are at this early stage in the season.
“We’re a very young team — I keep saying that,” Gelnovatch said. “People will sometimes forget that we are very young. And this’ll be an opportunity for us to, like you said, measure ourselves, but also to respond and get a win.”
Sophomore forward Edward Opoku, who has had a strong start to the season with a team leading three goals thus far, talked about how Clemson will be an incredibly tough opponent to face off against.
“That’s a tough one you know,” Opoku said. “Clemson has been doing well over the last years, and last year they did an amazing job, and this year they’ve been on a good start.”
However, he was quick to point out that the Cavaliers will be ready for the challenge and are looking forward to it.
“We are ready as a team, and we can’t wait to go,” Opoku said.
Meanwhile, the Tigers (3-1, 0-1 ACC) will be looking to bounce back in their own right after suffering a tough loss in conference play at the hands of No. 2 North Carolina (4-1, 1-0 ACC).
Thus, both teams will be battling to gain their first 2016 win in the ACC. Virginia and Clemson will face off at Klöckner Stadium this Saturday at 7 p.m. This game will conclude Virginia’s quick two-game home stand. The Cavaliers will head on the road next week to take on ACC rival Louisville before coming back to Charlottesville for an extended three-game stretch.
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