The UVA men’s soccer team matches up with UMBC at 5 p.m. Friday (Dec. 12) in the semifinals of the NCAA College Cup, hosted at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. In search of its seventh national championship, Virginia is making its second straight trip to college soccer’s final four, and its 12th appearance in program history.
The advancing team will play in either No. 2 seed UCLA or No. 11 seed Providence at noon Sunday in the national championship game.
Records
Virginia: 12-6-3
UMBC: 14-5-5
Broadcast Information
ESPNU will carry the television coverage for all three matches in the College Cup, while the games will be streamed online via ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. A link to live statistics (GameTracker) will be available on VirginiaSports.com.
Virginia Reaches College Cup for 12th Time
Seeded 16th in the field, Virginia has reached the NCAA College Cup for the 12th time in its 36 trips to the tournament. UVa is 11-5-2 all-time in College Cup matches, including 7-4 in the semifinals.
UVa has won six national championships (1989, 1991-94, 2009). The Cavaliers were runners-up to UCLA in 1997 and also competed in the 1983, 1995, 2006 and 2013 College Cups.
Nine current Cavaliers (on the active roster) played in the NCAA College Cup last season.
Virginia-UMBC Series
Virginia owns a 4-0 series advantage against UMBC. The teams last met on Sept. 29, 2004, a 3-1 Cavalier win in Charlottesville. This marks the programs’ first meeting in the NCAA tournament.
Previous Meetings (all in Charlottesville)
Sept. 29, 2004 – No. 22 UVa 3, UMBC 1
Oct. 18, 1995 – No. 1 UVa 3, UMBC 0
Sept. 9, 1992 – No. 1 UVa 2, UMBC 0
Oct. 19, 1988 – No. 1 UVa 3, UMBC 2 (OT)
Virginia Extends Streak in NCAA Soccer Championship
Virginia is playing in its 34th-consecutive NCAA tournament, dating to 1981 – the longest active streak in Division I men’s soccer. Virginia has an all-time record of 58-29-5 in the NCAA tournament, including a 10-4-2 mark in neutral-site matches.
Noting Virginia in 2014 NCAA Tournament
Virginia opened the tournament with a 3-1 home win in the second round over UNC Wilmington. For the first time in program history, the Cavaliers then advanced past two opponents on the road in the NCAA tournament, as UVa topped No. 1 seed Notre Dame, 1-0, on Nov. 30 and defeated No. 8 seed Georgetown in a penalty-kick shootout following a 1-1 draw last Saturday.
Virginia has out-scored its opponents 5-2 in the NCAA tournament, with five different players scoring; four of UVa’s five goals have come in the final 30 minutes of the second half. UVa has been out-shot, 37-28, in its three tournament matches but has the same number of shots on goal as its opponents (nine each).
Virginia vs. 2014 NCAA Field
The Cavaliers have played a rigorous schedule in 2014, with 13 of UVa’s 21 foes reaching the NCAA tournament (including three matches vs. Notre Dame). UVa is 5-5-3 against those teams.
Cavalier Soccer Success – Men and Women
Virginia reached the NCAA College Cup on the men’s and women’s side again this season after both advanced in 2013. This marks the 15th time a school has sent both its men’s and women’s teams to the College Cup in the same season.
Virginia has sent both teams to the College Cup three times – 1991, 2013 and 2014. UVa is the fourth school to send both its teams to the College Cup in consecutive years, joining UConn (1982-83), Santa Clara (1998-99) and North Carolina (2008-09).
Scouting UMBC
The Retrievers enter the College Cup unbeaten in their last 10 matches (8-0-2) and have not allowed a goal in 400 minutes of tournament play. Unseeded in the field, UMBC has played four road tournament matches, going 2-0-2. After ousting Wake Forest on penalty kicks in the first round, UMBC topped No. 4 seed Maryland, 1-0, before winning at No. 13 seed Louisville 1-0. The Retrievers advanced to their first College Cup by winning a PK shootout at No. 12 seed Creighton last Friday.
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Chris Graham
