UVA Executes A Dominating 3-1 Victory Over NC State

Saturday the 17th saw an astonishing example of athleticism, showmanship, and prowess as the UVA Men’s Soccer Team continued their exemplary record against the NC State Wolfpack. Winning with a 2-point advantage, the Cavaliers earned an exciting win and gave the home crowd of Klöckner Stadium a spectacle of human performance.

This victory marks the 100th well-earned ACC win for Coach George Gelnovatch, becoming the very first coach to reach this milestone at a single school and the second coach to achieve this feat overall. Gelnovatch’s after-match comments showed nothing but humility as he commemorated his players and the support from the audience in spite of his impressive record with the Cavaliers thus far. The coach’s comments, however, were certainly nothing short of the truth with the inspiring teamwork of the Cavaliers showing clear results.

Scoring the first goal of the game with around 18 minutes left in the first half, Stephen Annor, the prospective 1st year from Accra, Ghana and club SIMA made brilliant use of a set-up turned assist from number 16, Daniel Mangarov.

The Cavalier’s second goal came just before the end of the first half from Albin Gashi, scoring his second goal as a Cavalier. The Swedish 2nd year’s goal gave the team a two-point lead as they went into the second half.

Finishing the first half with 5 shots on goal for the Cavaliers and only 1 shot on goal for the Wolfpack, UVA showed their offensive talent against NC State. As the next 45 was loaded onto the clock, halftime festivities were concluded and it was back to business for the Cavaliers.

Losing no momentum, the Cavaliers took to the offense and got their third goal within 23 minutes of the second half from none other than number 9, Stephen Annor, making it a brace for the freshman. Assisted by Paul Wiese, Annor made another masterful play with a header directly into the goal making the score 3-0 UVA. This second goal for Annor prompted him to give his signature celebration of a backward somersault into a backflip giving the audience a true show of athleticism.

This spectacle of a goal caused a slight response from the Wolfpack as their very own number 9, Luke Hill, shot and scored on the Cavalier’s goal making it a 3-1 game.

From here, the Cavaliers and Wolfpack were at a standstill, going back and forth in exchanges with UVA on the offensive for the majority of the remainder of the half.

The truly eventful game ended with a score of 3-1 with a win for the Cavaliers. The final board showed 7 shots on goal for UVA and 2 for the Wolfpack. This would continue their winning record against the Wolfpack, which has been ongoing since their last loss to NC State over a decade ago in 2010. UVA’s official record against NC State is 50-17-9, with 32 of those wins and only 2 losses occurring at home for the Cavaliers.

With a victory over the Wolfpack in Men’s Soccer, the Cavaliers will attempt to embody the same success come Friday the 22nd as they compete against NC State again in football. The UVA football team has been dealt a tough hand in the current season losing their first 3 games. We hope that the success at Klöckner Stadium will translate to the Cavalier’s first win of the season in NCAA football.

The next game for Men’s Soccer will also be on Friday the 22nd as we face Notre Dame away in Indiana. The next home game can be seen on Tuesday the 26th against East Tennessee State University. We hope to see as many Wahoos in the stands as possible!