The No. 20 Virginia men's soccer team will host its second non-conference opponent of the season tonight, when it faces Atlantic-10 foe George Washington.
In light of the squad's most recent victory - an upset win against the nation's second-ranked team Friday night - tonight's test may not seem overly daunting.
"The Tuesday games are tricky because they fall a little bit under the radar," junior defender Mike Volk. "We have to stay focused and treat it just like it's a championship game."
George Washington is coming off a 4-0 win against Longwood last Wednesday. All four goals were scored in the second half, including two from Hermann Trophy candidate Andy Stadler. Stadler, a senior forward, has totaled six goals this season, moving him to sixth on George Washington's all-time scoring list with 28 career goals. With Stadler leading a potent Colonial attack that has compiled 13 goals so far, the Cavaliers cannot afford to take their opponent lightly if they want to walk away with another victory tonight.
Last week, the Cavaliers marched into Winston-Salem to take on a No. 2 Wake Forest squad that had won its previous 35 home matches. Escaping with a stunning 1-0 upset victory - its first in Winston-Salem since 2005 - Virginia improved its record to 4-1 heading into a three-game home stretch that includes matches against the Colonials, Clemson and VCU.
"I think it was important for us to get that win for a lot of reasons," Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. "Wake's a good team, and just getting that win on the road against them, but also what it does for us in the conference, as well. And the way we did it - the mentality that we had, the confidence that we had, the chances we created, defending a one goal-lead with 10 minutes to go on the road, those are all tough things to do. The guys did well."
The lone goal against the Demon Deacons came from Volk, who tallied his first career goal since transferring from Rutgers prior to the 2008 season. Senior midfielder Neil Barlow's high, curling corner kick in the 24th minute found a high-flying Volk, whose low header avoided the grasp of the Wake Forest keeper. It was Barlow's second assist of the season, improving his team-leading points total to six.
"Coach drilled into our heads that we were determined to get a goal," Volk said. "Neil served a great ball, and I just beat the defender to the ball and hit it near post. It felt great. It was one of the best feelings I could imagine."
Junior goalkeeper Diego Restrepo totaled five saves en route to preserving his second complete game shutout of the year. Sophomore midfielder Tony Tchani and sophomore forward Chris Agorsor - who had three shots apiece - led a Cavalier attack that managed 14 shots to the Demon Deacons' 13.
The win was the 199th for Virginia coach George Gelnovatch, meaning he will be eyeing a milestone 200th victory tonight when his team goes up against George Washington. The Colonials sport a 3-2 record with wins against Howard, UDC and Longwood. Their two defeats came at the hands of American and No. 11 California.
"My challenge to the team is to be the same group of guys that was getting ready for the Wake Forest game to get ready for George Washington tomorrow," Gelnovatch said. "I want them to be the same team that we were on Friday night - a team that was hungry, aggressive, didn't take anything lightly and really jumped on them. That's the challenge for tomorrow."
Virginia has not faced George Washington since the 1994 season, when the Cavaliers handed a crushing 7-0 defeat to the Colonials in Charlottesville. Virginia is 3-0 all time against George Washington.
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