Virginia is one of three ACC teams in the College Cup, the "final four" of NCAA Men's Soccer. The Cavaliers ride a 14-game winning streak into Friday's matchup against a tough Wake Forest squad, a team Virginia has beaten twice already this season.
No. 2-seeded Virginia is joined by fellow ACC foes No. 3 Wake Forest (17-3-3) and No. 5 North Carolina (16-2-3). The lone outsider in this nearly all-ACC affair is top seeded and undefeated Akron (23-0-0).
The matchup is set for Friday, December 11, at 5:00 p.m. in Cary, N.C. at WakeMed Park.This should be a tough battle between the Hoos and the Deacs. Wake has made it to the College Cup in each of the past four years and is looking to avenge an overtime loss to UVA in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament (0-0, 2OT). The regular season meeting between the two clubs was also tightly contested, with Virginia scoring the lone goal, in the 24th minute.
Virginia's keeper Diego Restrepo is looking to match the school record for most shutouts in a season, and can do so with a shutout Friday night. He has gone 1,107 minutes and 34 seconds without allowing a goal, as he chases the NCAA record for consecutive shutout minutes (1,318:26 set by Michigan State’s Avery Steinlage earlier this year).
The 'Hoos knocked off the defending national champions Maryland Terrapins in convincing fashion, 3-0. The Cavs have now made it to 28 straight NCAA appearances, the longest active streak in the nation.
The winner of Virginia/Wake will go on to face the winner of Akron/UNC at 1:00pm on Sunday. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN2/ESPN360.com.