Men’s Soccer: Gelnovatch wins 100th ACC contest as Hoos upend NC State, 3-1

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Powered by a brace from freshman Stephen Annor, the Virginia men’s soccer team downed NC State by a score of 3-1 Saturday night at Klöckner Stadium. The win saw George Gelnovatch reach the century mark, becoming just the second coach to record 100 ACC victories and the first to hit the milestone at a single school.

GOALS (ASSISTS)
28’ Virginia— Annor (Mangarov)
36’ Virginia — Gashi
69’ Virginia — Annor (Wiese)
69’ NC State — Hille

HOW IT HAPPENED

Virginia’s Daniel Mangarov found himself on the end of an excellent chance in the early stages of the game. After Virginia (4-2-1, 1-1-0 ACC) won possession in the attacking third, Mangarov fired a shot high and on target only to be denied by the goalkeeper.

Fifteen minutes later, it was Mangarov who engineered an eye-popping piece of play to put the Cavaliers in front. After cutting inside from the right wing, the attacking midfielder played a perfect ball in through the Wolfpack defense where Stephen Annor finished the play calmly at the back post.

Receiving the ball off a short corner with 35 minutes played, Umberto Pelà whipped a cross into the penalty area that was cleared out by a Wolfpack defender. It fell kindly for Albin Gashi at the top of the area who smashed it into the goal after a slight deflection. The Cavaliers would take a 2-0 lead into the locker room.

With 68 minutes played, Paul Wiese received a ball on the right wing and curled a cross into the box. A soaring Stephen Annor made perfect contact and gave the keeper no chance as his header was thumped into the top corner with pace.

Less than a minute later, NC State (4-3-0, 1-1-0) pulled one back as Luke Hille recovered possession inside the penalty area and slotted his chance home to make the score 3-1.

FROM HEAD COACH GEORGE GELNOVATCH

On reaching 100 ACC wins:
“It means a lot, but it means even more the way we did it today with the fans that we had and the quality goals. One hundred wins in the ACC is hard. But tonight, the way the players did it and way the fans support us makes it extra special.”

On the team’s performance tonight:
“We created a lot of chances today. For me, we wanted to get that third goal and then with the third goal, it felt like the roof was starting to cave in. Unfortunately, we gave a quick one back to them. But I still think even when they when they scored, we had control of the game. We scored three goals and an ACC game and that’s not easy to do.”

That’s 100 ACC wins for the GOAT 🐐#GoHoos⚔️ pic.twitter.com/juf68e9euD

— Virginia Men’s Soccer (@UVAMenSoccer) September 17, 2023

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Gelnovatch recorded his 100th ACC victory. He becomes the second head coach in league history to hit the mark and the first to achieve the milestone at a single school — Jay Vidovich hit the milestone in 2022 with combined wins at Wake Forest and Pitt.
• Gelnovatch improves to 100-73-34 all-time in ACC play
• With his pair of goals, Annor records a brace for the Cavaliers for the first time since Phil Horton’s two-goal performance at Pitt last season (9/30/22)
• Annor has scored three goals in his last two games and now leads the team with four on the season.
• Gashi scored the second goal of his Virginia career. He found the back of the net for the first time since Virginia bested JMU by a score of 3-0 (9/1/22)
• Mangarov recorded his first assist of the season
• Virginia outshot the Wolfpack by a margin of 15-6
• The Cavaliers put seven shots on target and allowed just two from NC State

UP NEXT

Virginia is back in action Friday, when the Cavaliers travel to South Bend, Ill. to take on No. 10 Notre Dame in another ACC contest. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.