By Jordan Shim–

The No. 10 Louisville men’s soccer team will host an ACC quarterfinal match against No. 17 Virginia on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 1 p.m.

Louisville currently leads the all-time series at 2-1. The Cards’ most recent win came on Sept. 24 when the Cavaliers were demolished 6-1. However, if Louisville fans are expecting a similar result, think again.

The two schools come into the match with opposite trajectories. Louisville began the season off to a strong start going 7-1-1, with six shutouts. However, they finished the back end of the season around .500, with a 4-3-1 record.

Virginia did the opposite. In their first seven games, the Cavaliers had difficulties defending, conceding 13 goals. Losing to the Cards was the wake-up call Virginia head coach George Gelnovatch needed for his team to make a strong to the postseason.

Since the loss, they are currently unbeaten in their last ten matches and have only allowed two goals during that stretch. They have not conceded a goal in the last 498 minutes, and have made a strong defense the cornerstone to their second half success.

Pablo Aguilar’s 82nd-minute goal lifted Virginia over NC State on Wednesday to set up the rematch.

Due to the high stakes of the game, this is one of Louisville’s toughest games. Virginia isn’t the best team they have faced this season, but this is a talented and refocused team. Every game from this point forward is a must-win. Virginia is playing back to the level everybody expected them to play at, whereas Louisville has cooled off.

If Louisville wants to win on Sunday, head coach Ken Lolla will need to devise a game plan similar to the one the Cards executed to perfection on Sept. 24.

The press

Virginia is a team that likes to play out from the back when they get restarts. Lolla noticed this in the earlier matchup and went with a high press to attack the defenders. Mohamed Thiaw, Tate Schmitt and Daniel Johnson will need to be ready because Lolla will more than likely look to do the same. If Virginia can play out of the Cardinal press, they will be fine. But if they fail, the Cards will force turnovers inside Virginia’s half, which will give U of L players more opportunities to score.

Right flank

Tim Kubel found lots of success on the right flank attacking Robin Afamefuna. Kubel registered four assists and set the school’s single-game assist record earlier in the year against UVA. He will more than likely not have four assists this time around, but the offense should look to run through his ability to send in dangerous crosses into the box. Louisville must challenge Virginia early and force their defenders to make stops. Otherwise, they will exploit that all afternoon.

Mohamed Thiaw

Thiaw has carried this Louisville offense with an ACC-best 11 goals and an NCAA-best seven game-winning goals. It is no accident that in the Cards’ 11 victories this season, Thiaw has scored in 10 of them. He’s ruthless in front of goal, converting one in every three chances. Thiaw’s 32 percent shooting percentage and 61 percent shot-on-goal percentage is best on the team. When Louisville needs a goal, they turn to Thiaw, and he will need to come up big on Sunday.

Photo by Nancy Hanner / The Louisville Cardinal