Big weekend for UVa soccer squads

It’s been a long time since the Virginia men’s and women’s soccer teams both had regular-season games in late October that meant so much. This afternoon, both squads will be playing matches with huge ACC tournament ramifications.

The 12th-ranked men will be hosting Boston College, while the women visit Wake Forest.

The men’s team (9-3-1, 2-3 ACC), which has won two straight, will be looking to separate itself from a logjam. They currently sit in a three-way tie for sixth place in the league, one game back of BC.

“It’s a must-win game,” said Virginia forward Will Bates, “because it’s an ACC match and our ACC record isn’t too great right now.

“We’ll just have to do like we do every other game — come out to win.”

Bates has come up big of late, scoring three goals in his last two games. Teammate Tony Tchani has also shown signs of breaking out of his sophomore slump. The Cameroonian, who had been benched in a recent game versus Liberty, scored his first goal in nearly a month in the win over Howard on Tuesday night.

But BC (9-6, 3-2) should be a stiffer challenge. The Eagles are riding a four-game winning streak, including a victory over then-No. 2 North Carolina.

“They’re a good team,” said Virginia coach George Gelnovatch. “They just beat Carolina at Carolina. I feel like one through seven in our conference could win the conference.

“I think it’s going to be who gets better as the season goes on. That’s what I told our guys. You have to get results along the way, but you have to get better, too. BC is a good side and it will be a good game.’

The same should hold true when the Wahoo women play at No. 5 Wake Forest. The Cavaliers (7-5-3, 2-4-1) — thanks to a Jess Rostedt goal — picked up a must-win at Duke on Thursday and will be looking to keep the momentum going.

A victim of some truly bad bounces this season, the women’s squad is in danger of missing the ACC tournament for the first time under coach Steve Swanson. They currently sit in an eighth-place tie with Miami, just a half-game ahead of N.C. State. Only the top eight squads make the tournament.