As students get ready for fall break, the Virginia men’s soccer team is gearing up to host in-state rival Virginia Tech in the Commonwealth Clash Friday at 7 p.m.
The Cavaliers (4-2-2, 0-2-1 ACC) are coming off a 4-0 win against Cornell, in which they recovered nicely after suffering a tough loss to Louisville over the weekend.
“Cornell was good to get back on track,” senior midfielder Paddy Foss said. “I think the main thing is to keep getting shutouts and from there the goals will come. So I think just taking pride in that shutout is going to be the key.”
Translating the shutout into Friday’s game will be a difficult task for the Cavaliers, as the No. 18 Hokies (7-2-0, 0-2-0 ACC) come to Klöckner Stadium having scored at least one goal in every game of the season so far.
Additionally, Virginia Tech — which currently sits ahead of Virginia in the ACC rankings — has only lost two games this season. One of those losses was the team’s most recent matchup, in which they fell 2-1 against No. 7 Clemson.
Virginia coach George Gelnovatch knows the challenge the Hokies pose this year will be much more demanding than in previous seasons.
“They’re much improved,” he said. “In the previous years we normally play them and they have a losing record, they’re not ranked and so forth, but it’s always a tough game. So we’re going to get that no matter what we play. But for us the position that they’re in, meaning they’re ranked and doing well, winning this year means it’s just a little more against a team who’s ranked and doing well. It’s not just an in-state rivalry, there’s more on the line than just that this time.”
Foss is looking forward to the additional meaning of the game and the excitement that always comes with playing Virginia Tech.
“It should be a lot of fun,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll have a big crowd. It’s a little bit unfortunate that it falls on fall break, but hopefully there will be a lot of people from the community and students who are still in town, so it should be ton of fun.”
After Friday, the Cavaliers will remain in Charlottesville for another home game against Hofstra Tuesday night.
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