CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - After a first half red card, the American University men's soccer team was forced to play down a man and was unable to overcome and early 1-0 deficit against the Virginia Cavaliers on Monday night. Senior goalkeeper Matthew Tibbets made 10 saves to match a career-high and keep his team in the game, while the AU backline kept the deficit at one and forced 11 shots off target.  

Notable

• Tibbetts now has 17 saves on the year through three starts. 
• The Cavaliers had 22 shots, while the Eagles had five. Colin O'Brien, Sebastian Garces, Mustapha Sowe, Ian Webb-Johnson, and Troy Elgersma took one apiece. 
• UVA had 10 corners to one for AU. 
• AU has now been given three red cards in its first four games. 
• With the loss, American moves to 0-3-1 on the year. 

How it Happened

• Two minutes into the game, Rojek was given his first yellow after a tackle on Jesus De Vicente. 
• The Cavaliers opened up AU's defense early, finding their first scoring opportunity in just the third minute of the match when Samuel Oulouheu busted through the back line and fired a shot that forced a quality save from Matthew Tibbets.
• Six minutes later, the home side jumped in front. Marco Dos Santos found Umberto Pelá on a run toward the middle of the box, who placed his header into the bottom right corner for the goal. 
• Rojek's second yellow and subsequent red card came in the 23rd minute, putting AU down a man for the remainder of the match. 
• Weathering the early storm, the Eagles leaned on their back line and senior goalkeeper to keep the deficit at one. They kept UVA from creating any clean looks inside the box for the rest of the half, and Tibbetts came up with a leaping stop on a well-struck strike from Albin Gashi in the 43rd minute. 
• AU had one attacking breakthrough and nearly equalizer through Mustapha Sowe in the 43rd minute. Troy Elgersma  delivered a well-weighted ball the striker up the left side, but Sowe's shot was denied by Casper Mols. 
• Tibbetts went back to work in the second half, making five more saves. His best stop came in the 81st minute, fully extending and getting two hands to a clean look from Gashi from just outside the box. 
• AU's best chance of the second half came in the 61st minute on an ambitious try from Troy Elgersma, as the midfielder almost caught Mols out of position. After a long goal kick from Tibbetts, Elgersma fired a shot from well outside the box that forced a one-handed diving save from the UVA keeper. 

Up Next

• AU continues its non-conference schedule next Saturday on the road, taking a trip to Delaware to face the Blue Hens on Saturday, Sept. 6. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.

Keep Up With Us

• For the latest on American University Women's Soccer, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on X (@AU_MSoccer) and Instagram (@au.msoccer).