After slaying the Rhode Island Rams in their previous game, the Virginia men's soccer team today will take on a different herd of Rams, in the form of Virginia Commonwealth University.
The Rams are the first of the Cavaliers' opponents in the Maryland/Fila Classic in College Park, Md. VCU will battle Virginia at 5 p.m., and the Cavs also will face Penn State on Sunday at noon.
The Cavaliers pulled out two come-from-behind victories against Kentucky and Rhode Island last weekend. Before these games, Virginia dropped two preseason matches against Michigan State and preseason No. 1 Indiana.
Coach George Gelnovatch acknowledged the shaky start, but expressed the need for patience as the players got used to a new system.
"We all know, as a team and as a staff, that there's a lot we need to work on," Gelnovatch said. "We're playing with a different formation this year that's going to take us a little time to get used to. We've got some young players in important spots on the field, so we're going to have to get them used to the way we're playing. So, it's going to take some time."
An ugly win is still a win, however, and many players were pleased with the team's ability to overcome deficits in both games to get off to a perfect 2-0 start.
The wins are "a testament to the type of maturity we have on our team," senior defenseman Jonathan Cole said. "We have a bunch of leaders and a bunch of older guys who've been around and been down in the past. We have the confidence and know we're capable of coming back."
The Cavs look to continue this winning trend and clean up their play a little bit when they take on VCU. The Rams are also off to a 2-0 start, after beating Syracuse and Hartwick to win the VCU Nike/Alltell Soccer Classic. Both victories were shutouts.
VCU is a pathetic 0-17-1 all-time against the Cavaliers, however, and are heavy underdogs for tonight's game as well. Regardless, Virginia still recognizes the Rams as a potentially dangerous opponent.
"VCU always has some technically talented players," Cole said. "They're going to be really organized. They've got some foreign guys who know a lot about the game. We know it's going to be a tough game and we know it's going to take an above-average performance."
The Cavaliers also are slated to take on the Nittany Lions, whom Gelnovatch described as a "good opponent." Penn State is 1-1 on the season so far, and are coming off a win against East Carolina.
ACC co-player of the week Aleko Eskandarian, who netted three goals and one assist in the Cavaliers' first two wins, will lead the Virginia attack. The junior forward alone has accounted for 60 percent of Virgina's scoring this year.
Other players to look for will be team shots leader Ryan Kelly. The junior forward has put in one goal so far this season. Goalkeeper David Comfort is another Virginia weapon. So far he has two wins with a goals-against average of 1.5.
Confidence is high for the Cavaliers, almost as high as the expectations of a preseason No. 2 ranking, but the emphasis is on focusing on the long-term and not worrying about the results so early in the season.
"I think improving as a team is the most important thing," senior midfielder Kenny Arena said. "We got the results all year long [last year], but we didn't win in the end. If we improve as a team now, it doesn't really matter as long as we're playing well in the end."
With a strong performance at this weekend's tournament, the Cavaliers will be on their way.
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