If Alecko Eskandarian continues to play like he did in yesterday's 6-1 Cavalier win against N.C. State, Cav coach George Gelnovatch joked he just might have to keep him on the bench.
Eskandarian has notched six goals in his past four games, giving him nine on the year. With 21 points, he stands a mere 16 points shy of Gelnovatch's 1983 Cavalier rookie scoring record with eight regular season games remaining.
"I've got to start pulling him out of the lineup" so he doesn't break the record, Gelnovatch kidded. "He's gifted around the box, that's for sure. He's also very good at running at people one-on-one, but in tight spaces, he's a handful. The other thing is that he strikes the ball very well."
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Coming off a two-goal game against William & Mary Wednesday, Eskandarian scored twice and added an assist as No. 7 Virginia (7-3, 2-0 ACC) thrashed the Wolfpack (1-6-2, 0-3). Standing alone in front of the net in the 14th minute, the left-footed freshman forward chipped a Ryan Gibbs cross with his right foot through the keeper's legs for his first goal of the game.
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"A lot of people tease me by saying that I don't use my right foot as much, but that's my secret weapon, I guess," Eskandarian said. "I don't use it as much as I probably should, but when it comes down to it, I'm confident."
Eskandarian's goal was part of a quick three-goal start by the Cavaliers. Junior defender Marshall Leonard opened the scoring with his first career goal in the third minute, while junior midfielder Steve Totten notched his first goal of the season on a penalty kick in the 23rd minute. Even though the Wolfpack was overmatched from the start of the game, N.C. State was not a pushover opponent.
"I think they're the first team we've played this year that has come out and tried to play us straight up; not sat back, played compact and waited for a counterattack to win the game," Virginia midfielder Kyle Martino said. "They actually played the game the way soccer is supposed to be played. They tried to go forward, they tried to get their forwards into the game."
The Cavs are glad to be back on track after suffering a disappointing 3-2 overtime loss against William & Mary last week.
"I think that it's natural when you lose a game, especially in the nature that we lost on Wednesday, that you're going to have to be a little bit fired up," Gelnovatch said. "You need to get some energy and conviction, and I think we had that today."
Sophomore Kyle Singer had started the Cavs' past five games in goal, but he was benched yesterday in favor of sophomore David Comfort after allowing all three goals in the loss to the Tribe.
"We were going to [start Comfort] anyway," Gelnovatch said. "It was in the works this past week. I haven't decided yet" whether to continue rotating the goalkeepers.
Comfort finished the game with three saves in what Gelnovatch described as a "steady" effort.
"He got tested on one play and it was a goal," Gelnovatch said. "I'm not saying that it's his fault, but that's really the only play that he had the whole game."
The Cavaliers may not know who will be starting in goal from game to game, but they can count on Eskandarian.
"We won't say [that Eskandarian can break the rookie scoring record] too loudly until it happens, but I think he can do it," Martino said. "I think George knows in the back of his head that it's about to get broken"
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