Wahoo Wire

Photo courtesy of virginiasports.com

The No. 2 Virginia Men’s Soccer Team started their regular season off in outstanding fashion with home wins over UAB and No. 17 St. John’s over the weekend.

On Friday night the Cavaliers were given an early scare when Blazers forward Babayele Sodade scored in the 58^th minute, putting the Cavaliers in the unfamiliar position of trailing.

Virginia‘s response came from a penalty kick converted by sophomore midfielder Sean Hiller in the 61^st minute, opening his career scoring account.

Hiller then turned provider in the 78^th minute, crossing the ball for sophomore forward and last season’s top-scorer Will Bates to head in the winner, Virginia winning 2-1.

On Sunday afternoon, the team claimed a big scalp by defeating BIG EAST Champions St. John’s 5-0.

Two goals against the Red Storm came from freshman forward Brian Span. His first was an impressive hammered shot into the top right corner from 15 yards out in the 17^th minute. The other goals came from redshirt midfielder Jimmy Simpson, sophomore forward Sean Murnane and Bates (bringing his regular season total to two.)

The two wins raised Virginia’s unbeaten streak to 18 games, with a home unbeaten streak of 12 games. The second game was the first clean sheet for the team and fourth year Goalkeeper Diego Restrepo.

Next up is a trip to Durham NC for a crucial Conference match against Duke this Sunday at 7pm. The Blue Devils started their season with a tie against #11 Louisville and a win against Sacremento State, overall scoring four and conceding one.