Replacing influential players after a successful season can be a difficult trick to pull off. Just ask Al Groh and his new linebacking corps.
The Virginia men's soccer team, like its gridiron counterparts, also has had to deal with the loss of key players on defense. The Cavaliers lost senior Matt Oliver to graduation and junior Hunter Freeman to Major League Soccer. Oliver, the team captain, was the heart and soul of Virginia's defense. Virginia did not only lose the leadership of Oliver but also the enterprising skills of Freeman.
Freeman, who played on the U.S. U-20 team this year, had the unique position of being the link between the forwards and the men at the back and was often deployed as a midfielder with defensive duties. Surprisingly, despite the absence of both players, early signs suggest that Virginia's defense has a chance to be as good as last year when the Cavaliers allowed only 24 goals in 24 games while banging in 50 of their own.
Virginia already has recorded two straight shutouts in the first two games of the season. A key addition to the team has been defender Lee Sandwina. Sandwina transferred from San Jose State, where he started 16 games for the Spartans including postseason appearances in the NCAA Tournament. He cites the strength of Virginia's program as one of the main reasons for settling into Charlottesville.
"I came to Virginia because of soccer," Sandwina said. "Obviously, the program here is extremely good, and coming here was going to further my career, and it's a great school."
Sandwina said he appreciates the opportunity he has been given to play with one of the premier ACC teams.
"Everyone here has great skill and plays together," Sandwina said. "It really helps your game when you have people around you who can play extremely well. There is an immense amount of talent here."
The 6-feet-1-inch junior from Santa Rosa, Calif. already has impressed teammates with his size and quickness.
"He's done well -- he's playing in a different spot and he's learning how to play back there," sophomore midfielder Chris Tierney said. "He's a big, strong kid. He's playing a lot simpler and a lot quicker. Lee has fit in pretty well."
Gelnovatch also has been impressed with the newest member of the Cavalier soccer family.
"Lee Sandwina has been playing very well," Gelnovatch said.
Indicative of the changing times, Sandwina's journey to the University began with a simple e-mail to Gelnovatch that sent the ball rolling.
"After every season -- right around December and January -- there is what we call a 'transfer market,'" Gelnovatch explained. "I like to think that we're a high-profile program, and every year we get inquiries from players looking to transfer here."
Virginia might get the best of both worlds with Sandwina. Although he recorded only one assist and seven shots in a Spartan uniform, Sandwina played as a midfielder in high school, making it easier for him to step in the big shoes of Freeman while still playing the leadership role Oliver was most famous for.
Read More
You cannot say money is the problem for Virginia football
By Peter Kriebel | 6 hours agoMoney, after all, is just one aspect of a winning program.
West Coast woes strike again as men’s basketball gets hammered by Stanford
By Emory Huffman | 17 hours agoVirginia, once again in a lost season, looked aimless on the floor.
ISTVAN: Tony Bennett left Virginia in a hole
By Ben Istvan | YesterdayHis decision to retire doomed this men's basketball season.
