Virginia men's soccer coach George Gelnovatch doesn't want to get too excited. After watching his squad go undefeated in preseason competition in Europe, he knows the Cavaliers' preseason No. 3 ranking isn't a fluke. Virginia's first test will come tonight as it takes on Liberty in the first round of the 2001 Virginia Soccer Classic. The game will take place at Klockner Stadium at 8 p.m.
"We have depth this year that we haven't had in quite a while, but I'm cautiously optimistic until we get through these first couple games," Gelnovatch said. "We were 4-0-1 in Europe, but that doesn't mean anything. I think we have a good team, but the outcome of the games in the next couple of weeks will really be the determining factor. We play UCLA and Creighton, and not to overlook Liberty and American, but I think these two games will really help determine what direction we're heading and who we are."
Last season, the Cavaliers posted an impressive 17-6-1 (5-1-0 ACC) record but failed to accomplish their two main goals: to win the ACC and NCAA championship titles. They finished the year ranked No. 5.
However, the 2000 squad was very young - freshmen Alecko Eskandarian, Ryan Kelly and Jacob LeBlanc were all starters by the end of the season.
A first-team All-ACC selection, Eskandarian was named ACC rookie of the year and Soccer America's freshman of the year after leading the Cavaliers in points and goals scored. He became Virginia's all-time freshman scoring leader with 38 points, and his 16 goals tied the record for most goals by a Cavalier freshman in a season.
"We have so many returning players with significant collegiate experience," junior midfielder Kyle Martino said. "The 11 people who are going to be starting played numerous games last year. We usually lose our senior core every year, but we started a lot of freshman last year, and they're the core of the team now."
"I can say that this is the best team I've played on while I've been here," senior co-captain Steve Totten said. "Not reaching the Final Four would be a disappointment this year. We're not weak at any position. Anytime we substitute, we're going to have somebody fresh on the field who is just as good as the other team's players."
After splitting time between his two keepers in 2000, Gelnovatch named junior David Comfort the starting keeper for Friday's contest. Comfort and junior Kyle Singer have been vying for the starting spot for the past two years.
Both Comfort and Singer "have had a great preseason, but they both had great preseasons last year, and once we got started, things got a little rocky," Gelnovatch said. "We're hoping that with a little more maturity, they'll feel more comfortable and confident in goal... and that they maintain what they've been doing in preseason and in Europe."
Martino says the team is beginning the season with a different outlook than usual.
"We usually try to turn it on in the postseason, starting with the ACC tournament," Martino said. "The attitude we're taking this season is that we're looking toward the national championship from the very first game of the season... instead of staking all our hopes on the postseason. We've got to get some momentum going into the postseason rather than starting it then."
The Cavaliers will start on the offensive right away, instead of preparing a strategy based on the opponent's strengths and weaknesses.
"It's still early in the season, so we're just working on our game right now," Totten said. This year we're probably just going to play our game because we think we're better than everyone else"
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