Courtesy: David Petkofsky/UVa Media Relations Jimmy Simpson
CHARLOTTESVILLE – Jimmy Simpson scored two goals and the 18th-ranked Virginia men’s soccer team shut out Liberty, 3-0, Tuesday night at Klöckner Stadium. Tony Tchani added a third goal for the Cavaliers, who won their fifth-consecutive contest.
“We did ourselves a favor by scoring three quick goals,” UVa head coach George Gelnovatch said. “We were able to take the air out of the game and play a lot of bodies. Now we can turn our full attention to Clemson on Friday night.”
Virginia (7-3-0) ran its home win streak to four games and posted its second-straight shutout. In goal for UVa, Michael Giallombardo tallied a save for his fourth shutout in five starts.
Simpson put Virginia on top, 1-0, in the 14th minute when he gained control of a shot by Chase Neinken that was blocked by a defender. Simpson put the ball past Liberty goalkeeper Paul Gilbert for his third goal of the year.
Just over five minutes later, in the 19th minute, Simpson scored again to put the Cavaliers up, 2-0. Matt Mitchell found Simpson in the penalty area and Simpson finished to the lower right corner from 10 yards out. For Mitchell, it was his third assist of the year while it was Simpson’s second goal of the night and fourth of the year.
Tchani tacked on another Cavalier goal in the 22nd minute, intercepting a pass between two Liberty defenders and chipping the ball over the goalkeeper’s head for his team-high ninth goal of the year.
Virginia defended well for the rest of the match to come away with the 3-0 victory. The Cavaliers held a 14-3 advantage in shots, while Liberty (5-5-0) finished with a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Gilbert, in goal for the Flames, had three saves in defeat.
Virginia improved to 17-0-0 in the all-time series with Liberty and 4-2 at Klöckner Stadium in 2008.
Up next for Virginia is a return to conference play with a Friday night game against Clemson at Klöckner Stadium. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Full Scoreboard
Courtesy: David Petkofsky/UVa Media Relations
