Virginia Athletics | Virginia Snatches 1-0 Win Over No. 8 James Madison

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — With a dramatic finish featuring late-game heroics from Umberto Pelà, the Virginia men’s soccer team (4-4-3, 1-2-2 ACC) broke through in the 90^th minute of action to secure a 1-0 victory over No. 8 James Madison (5-1-4, 1-0-1 SBC) on Tuesday night (Oct. 8) at Klöckner Stadium.

Goals (Assist)
90’ Virginia — Garcia Barelles (OG)

How it Happened:

• Virginia 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 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 68^th 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.

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 +1 in those games
• The Cavaliers earned the program’s 13^th victory over a team ranked in the nation’s top-10 while being unranked themselves—this marked…