Men’s Soccer: Virginia adds to momentum with 1-0 win at BC

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

In a physical battle that featured 10 total cards with nine assessed to their opponents, the Virginia men’s soccer team defeated Boston College on Friday night at the Newton Soccer Stadium.

Clutch performances from Nick Dang and Joey Batrouni lifted the Cavaliers to their third consecutive win, and first road win over Boston College since 2005.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Batrouni was forced to make an important save early in the match, but the game would tilt heavily in Virginia’s favor when a Boston College’s Marco Dos Santos was shown a red card for serious foul play less than 20 minutes into the game.  

The Eagles (3-4-5, 0-4-2 ACC) reverted to an ultra-defensive posture packing players behind the ball in an effort to preserve a clean sheet.  

Virginia (5-4-3, 2-2-2) poured on the pressure taking seven shots in the first half, but were unable to solve the Eagles’ low block as the teams went into the half tied at 0-0.  

The second half featured another scoreless 30 minutes before the Cavaliers finally broke through in the 78th minute when Dang headed in a corner kick from Danny Mangarov to give Virginia a 1-0 lead.

78′ 𝙂𝙊𝘼𝙇𝙇𝙇𝙇𝙇𝙇𝙇𝙇

Worth. The. Wait. After a video review Nick Dang’s goal is confirmed and gives Virginia the lead!#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/hbHZgZHCo5

— Virginia Men’s Soccer (@UVAMenSoccer) October 12, 2024

With 12 minutes to kill off, Virginia battled in its defensive end as Joey Batrouni delivered a pair of impressive saves in the clutch to seal the 1-0 victory and the three points for Virginia.

JOEY BATROUNI WITH THE GAME ON THE LINE 🧊🥶#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/TBAxJ0B5CF

— Virginia Men’s Soccer (@UVAMenSoccer) October 12, 2024

😅 Close one! No goal confirmed!#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/MuuuJCUX6X

— Virginia Men’s Soccer (@UVAMenSoccer) October 12, 2024

Boston College would see its second red card in the closing minute of the game as tempers flared in a tight match.

GOALS
UVA: 78’ — Nick Dang (Daniel Mangarov)

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Dang’s goal marks his fourth of the season to lead the team – it marks his first goal since Maryland (9/2/24) 
• Mangarov’s assist increases his season point total to 7, tied for second on the team 
• The Cavaliers have kept back-to-back clean sheets with a pair of 1-0 victories 
• Dang becomes the fourth Virginia player to score a game-winner this season 
• The Cavaliers tied their season-high mark with nine corner kicks in the match 
• Boston College was assessed with 9 cards in the game (7 yellow, 2 red)
• UVA was shown one yellow card

WITH THE WIN…

• The Cavaliers secure their second-ever road win over the Eagles
• UVA moves to 9-5-4 in the all-time series with Boston College 
• Virginia has won its last three matches, the longest win streak of the 2024 campaign  
• Virginia secured their first win on the road of the 2024 season with an unbeaten record of 1-0-3 in away games.  
• The Cavaliers have won consecutive 1-0 games scoring the game-winning goal in the 75th minute or later.

FROM HEAD COACH GEORGE GELNOVATCH

“This is not an easy place to play. Boston College makes things really difficult on its opponents when they’re playing at home, and this is the first time we have won here since 2005. This was an emotional game and I think we handled those emotions really well.

“Once they went down a man, it almost became a lot more difficult to score with the formation they played and they type of goal Nick scored was exactly the type of opportunity we were going to have to capitalize on. Then, in the end, it was a great exercise in closing down a tough game on the road.”

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers will be back in action on Tuesday when they host American in non-conference action. Kickoff at is set for 7 p.m. on ACCNX.