Men’s Soccer: Hoos knock off No. 8 JMU on late goal, 1-0

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

With a dramatic finish featuring late-game heroics from Umberto Pelà, the Virginia men’s soccer team broke through in the 90th minute of action to secure a 1-0 victory over No. 8 James Madison on Tuesday night at Klöckner Stadium.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Virginia (4-4-3) looked threatening 16 minutes in when a well-worked play down the left side of the field resulted in a low cross that was deflected out to Danny Mangarov. His attempt from inside the penalty area was blocked.

The Dukes (5-1-4) would respond with a dangerous chance of their own when JMU goalkeeper, Sebastian Conlon, punted a long ball past the halfway line for Evan Southern to collect creating a chance for the Dukes in transition. Jeffery Aguilar’s attempt sailed high of the crossbar and the half would end with nothing to separate the teams at 0-0.

Virginia created another dangerous opportunity just minutes after the restart when Nick Dang got underneath a free kick from Mangarov. His header was deflected out for a corner kick.

The Cavaliers continued to apply pressure, but were seemingly unable to break through as Brendan Lambe and Mangarov would each come close to breaking the deadlock.

In the 68th minute of play, a shot from Cesar Cordova at the top of the penalty area came off the arm of a JMU player as the referee whistled for a Cavalier penalty kick. However, after video review, the call on the field was overturned due to the defender’s arm being deemed in a natural position.

As the clock ticked into the final minute of action, the Cavaliers recycled possession and geared up for one final attack as Lambe lifted a ball over the JMU back line for Pelà to collect. With one touch, the Cavalier captain put a low cross into the six-yard box where it deflected off JMU’s Enrique Garcia Barelles and into the net to lift UVA to a 1-0 win.

GOALS
UVA: 90’ — Garcia Barelles (OG)

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOS!!!!!!!!!#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/4ljop6wct4

— Virginia Men’s Soccer (@UVAMenSoccer) October 9, 2024

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Virginia’s winning goal is its latest goal of the season
• The Cavaliers record their first win of the season when scoring only one goal
• Umberto Pelà made his first start after missing three games due to injury
• Virginia kept its third clean sheet of the season and its first in eight games
• The Cavaliers have conceded a goal or less in all but one game in 2024
• The two teams combined for nine yellow cards (UVA 4, JMU 5)
• Both teams were even in shot attempts as each managed 10 — Danny Mangarov led all players with six shots
• UVA put three shots on frame compared to JMU’s one

WITH THE WIN…

• The Cavaliers improve to 21-5-3 all-time against the Dukes
• Virginia logs its second victory in five days over a program ranked in the nation’s top-25
• UVA is now 2-1 on the season against the nation’s top-25, with a goal differential of plus-1 in those games
• The Cavaliers earned the program’s 13th victory over a team ranked in the nation’s top-10 while being unranked themselves—this marked the fourth such victory in the past three seasons
• Virginia records back-to-back wins for the first time this season
• The Cavaliers are now 283-82-37 all-time against in-state opposition

FROM HEAD COACH GEORGE GELNOVATCH

“Overall, I would say these last two games were a little bit more reflective of our performances. You could see the will to win, drive, and the quality that we ae used to. We got a good taste of that and put ourselves in a much better situation going to Boston College. JMU is a good team, and I think we’re getting our form and some guys back healthy. I think this was one of our better performances against one of the better teams we have played.”

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers will be back in action on Friday when they travel to Newton, Mass., for an ACC battle with Boston College. Kickoff at is set for 7 p.m. on ACCNX.