#5 UVA (6-0, 2-0 ACC) recorded its fifth shutout of the season in a 2-0 victory over NC State (4-2-1, 1-1 ACC) at Klöckner Stadium on Friday night.
The Cavaliers have won their first two Atlantic Coast Conference games for the first time since 2008.
Just before halftime, Daryl Dike (Edmond, Okla.) scored his second goal of the season when he slid to touch a Robin Afamefuna (Wuerselen, Germany) cross into the back of the net for his second tally of the season. Junior Joe Bell (Wanaka, New Zealand) also was credited with an assist on the eventual game-winner and later iced the match on a penalty kick with 18 seconds left in regulation.
“I didn’t want to get to halftime time (with the score) 0-0,” head coach George Gelnovatch said. “I wanted to get a goal, we did and that was big. I think you can attribute a lot of it (the shutout) to a team performance defensively.”
Virginia hasn’t trailed in any of the six games going into halftime this season.
The Cavalier defense was smothering over the first 80 minutes, not allowing a single Wolfpack shot. All four of the NC State attempts came in the final 10 minutes with one going on target.
Goalkeeper Colin Shutler (Middleburg, Va.) was credited with his 13th career clean sheet, moving him into a tie for ninth place on the program’s all-time shutout list. The Cavaliers came into the contest ranked second in the country with a 0.20 goals against average.
Virginia outshot the Wolfpack 13-4 and attempted five corners to NC State’s three. The Cavaliers held 58 percent of the possession in the contest.
Virginia will wrap up a three-game stint at Klöckner Stadium on Monday when it hosts Western Michigan. The contest is set to air on ACC Network and scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
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Chris Graham
