Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Nick Simmonds delivered a seven-point offensive masterpiece as No. 11 Virginia rolled past Clemson, 4–0, on Saturday night at Klöckner Stadium. The freshman netted three goals to log the program’s first hat trick since 2012 — and the first by a UVA freshman since 2009.

GOALS
4’ – UVA: Simmonds (De Vicente, Pelà)
15’ – UVA: Dos Santos (De Vicente, Simmonds)
24’ – UVA: Simmonds (Gashi)
77’ – UVA: Simmonds (Parvu)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Cavaliers (9-1-4, 4-0-3 ACC) wasted no time opening the scoring, netting their quickest goal to open a match this season in just the fourth minute. Jesus De Vicente picked out Simmonds just outside the 18-yard box. Taking a touch to set his feet, Simmonds unleashed an effort from distance that flew into the top corner to put Virginia on top early.

Just 10 minutes later, the Cavaliers doubled the lead. Simmonds directed the ball out to De Vicente on the wing who played a long, curling pass that skipped to the feet of Marco Dos Santos. Taking a touch around the keeper, he rolled his chance into the back of the net for a 2-0 lead over the Tigers (8-4-2, 4-2-1).

Virginia stretched its lead to three in the 24th minute when Albin Gashi made a sliding effort to keep possession and play the ball to Simmonds outside the penalty area. After a clever touch around his defender, he tucked his chance inside the far post to secure his second multi-goal game of the season.

Simmonds secured his hat trick in the 77th minute. After an impressive run through the penalty area, Alex Parvu send a low ball across the face of goal where Simmonds was there to tap it home for 4-0 and mark the first UVA hat trick since Will Bates in 2012.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Nick Simmonds became the first Cavalier to record a hat trick since 2012 (Will Bates, 9/11/12)
• Simmonds is the first UVA freshman to record a hat trick since 2009 (Will Bates, 11/22/09)
• Simmonds leads the team in goals (8) and points (19) this season
• Marco Dos Santos scored his first goal as a Cavalier
• Umberto Pelà marked his third consecutive game with an assist
• Jesus De Vicente marked his second multi-assist game of the season, the fifth of his career
• Virginia recorded its seventh shutout of the season
• Casper Mols recorded his sixth solo shutout of the season
• Brendan Lambe made played 13 minutes and made his first appearance since suffering an injury on Aug. 28

WITH THE WIN …

• The Cavaliers extend their unbeaten streak to 11 straight games
• UVA remains unbeaten at home with a record of 7-0-4 at Klöckner Stadium
• Virginia improves to 31-25-6 in the all-time series with Clemson
• The Cavaliers improve to 5-0-1 when scoring at least two goals this season
• Virginia is 15-3-7 in the month of October since the start of 2022

FROM HEAD COACH GEORGE GELNOVATCH

On the team’s performance…
“Both teams are very good in transition. By limiting [Clemson] in transition, we created our own transitional moments and capitalized on the very first three. So, that dynamic put an edge on the game which gave us a good advantage.”

On Nick Simmonds:
“It’s hard to come in here, have two weeks of preseason as a first year, and all of a sudden score goals. He had a whole spring here, he’s a really talented guy, and we have a really good team. When you put all of that together, you’ve got a guy that’s scoring a lot of goals.”

FROM NICK SIMMONDS

“The last UVA player to score a hat trick was Will Bates and he was my U-15 coach. I’ll definitely shoot him a text after the game…I knew he had the last hat trick and it was a goal of mine to break it… All my family is here supporting me, extended and immediate. I love all of them, and to have their support means the world to me. I wouldn’t be here without them.”

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers will be back in action on Friday when they close out the regular season in Dallas against SMU. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on ACCNX.