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UVA Men's Soccer Beats NC State 3-1, Gelnovatch Earns 100th ACC Victory

George Gelnovatch eclipsed 100 ACC wins as his Virginia men's soccer team defeated NC State 3-1 on Saturday night
Matt Newton|
UVA Men's Soccer Beats NC State 3-1, Gelnovatch Earns 100th ACC Victory
UVA Men's Soccer Beats NC State 3-1, Gelnovatch Earns 100th ACC Victory

Virginia men's soccer head coach George Gelnovatch made history on Saturday night as he earned his 100th-career ACC victory. Gelnovatch is just the second coach in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference to reach that milestone and he is the first to do so at one school. His Cavaliers put him over the century mark with a convincing win as Virginia handled NC State to the tune of a 3-1 victory on Saturday night at Klockner Stadium. 

Gelnovatch's career coaching achievement was nearly upstaged as the top headline by continued stellar play from rising star freshman Stephen Annor, who scored his third and fourth goals of the season to power the Cavaliers to the win. In the 28th minute, Daniel Mangarov, who had been just barely denied a goal a few minutes earlier, sent an exquisite left-footed through ball that was perfectly timed and placed with Annor's run into the box. NC State goalkeeper Ben Voase came out to challenge, but Annor slipped his shot right underneath Voase and into the back left corner of the cage to give Virginia the 1-0 lead. 

The Cavaliers blitzed the Wolfpack with 11 first-half shots, five of which went on frame. Voase made three saves, but in the 36th minute, UVA found the back of the net again to make it 2-0. NC State headed out Virginia's cross and the ball came to Albin Gashi just outside the box. Gashi hammered a left-footed shot that deflected slightly off a Wolfpack defender and curled perfectly inside the near post, giving Voase no chance of making the save. 

Even leading 2-0, Virginia maintained a steady dose of offensive pressure and eventually, that led to a third goal in the second half. In the 69th minute, Annor completed his brace as Paul Wiese placed an accurate cross to the front of the cage and Annor came flying in to deliver a well-struck header into the top of the netting to make it 3-0. 

NC State got on the board just 35 seconds later as Luke Hille capitalized on an opportunity in the penalty area and scored to spoil Virginia's shutout. 

Still, UVA cruised to a 3-1 win and thoroughly outplayed NC State from start to finish. The Cavaliers outshot the Wolfpack 15-6 in the match and corners were 10-3 in favor of Virginia. 

“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," Gelnovatch said after the game. "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.”

The win improves Virginia to 4-2-1 overall and 1-1 in ACC play this season. Up next, UVA will travel to South Bend to battle No. 10 Notre Dame on Friday at 7pm. 

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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