With 25 straight NCAA Tournament appearances and five national championships, expectations are always high for the Virginia men's soccer program. Yet, the hopes of Virginia soccer fans will be as elevated as ever this fall as the Cavaliers will field one of the more experienced and talented squads in recent memory. Virginia finished 2005 with a 12-5-3 record and lost 2-1 in Chapel Hill to North Carolina in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
"We have most of our team returning from last year," Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. "In the spring we were able to have what will be the bulk of our starting team working together. I'm looking forward to that dynamic of having the same group of guys who have been through it. Then we also have some incoming first-years who should be exciting."
Virginia lost only two players to graduation following the 2005 season -- Joe Vide and Gifford Okatah-Boi. Vide is the more significant loss as he started 16 games and scored three goals for the Cavaliers from the midfield last year and is now playing professionally for the New York Red Bull. Okatah-Boi, a defender, appeared in only five games and 15 throughout his collegiate career.
Virginia players are confident that they can achieve something special this year.
"I know that we will have a great team," sophomore forward Yannick Reyering said. "We lost just two players in Joe and Gifford, so we will be a very experienced team. Also, the incoming players will have a positive impact on the team. I'm really looking forward to this upcoming season because I am determined that we can win something big."
Reyering served as Virginia's main offensive catalyst during his freshman campaign. The German native led the Cavaliers with 14 goals. Joining him in the attack will be senior Adam Cristman. Cristman scored seven goals and notched six assists in 2005. He saw limited playing time in the NCAA Tournament due to a leg injury. The Glen Allen native led the Cavaliers in goals in both his freshman and sophomore seasons and has accumulated 24 overall throughout his career at Virginia.
Gelnovatch's system places a high level of emphasis on midfield play and he has a lot of talent to choose from when sorting out his lineup there. Virginia midfielders who will likely see much playing time include Jeremy Barlow, Nico Colaluca, Dane Murphy and Will Hall. Senior Ian Holder can play both as a midfielder and a forward.
"We're still taking a close look at our central midfield," Gelnovatch said. "It's not that we're deficient but it's who will be best suited for those positions."
Heading into last season, there were concerns about Virginia's defense. Those concerns, however, were unfounded as Virginia's backs gelled quickly and flourished early in the season. The Cavaliers did not yield a goal until the sixth game of the season at Old Dominion. Virginia's commonly started Chris Tierney, Lee Sandwina, Matt Poole and Zola Short across the back. Freshman Robby Rogers saw more time as the season progressed and his hamstring injury improved. The defense will be bolstered this year by the presence of Bakary Soumare who only played in one contest last season due to a foot injury.
Gelnovatch is still trying to figure out what defensive lineup will work the best this autumn.
"We're still sorting out some of our outside-back positions," he said.
Defending the goal for Virginia will be one of the nation's premier goalkeepers, senior Ryan Burke. Burke has started every game for the Cavaliers over the past two years and made 65 saves in 2005 while posting 10 shutouts.
In addition to the returning talent, Virginia has brought in an elite recruiting class for the 2006 season, including the No. 1 recruit in the nation, midfielder Jonathan Villanueva from Dallas, Tex.
"It's been a while since we've had someone with Jonathan's playmaking ability," Gelnovatch said in a February press release announcing the recruiting class. "He's a very talented player right now, but what I'm excited about is that he hasn't reached his potential yet. We expect there to be a learning curve for him, but I also would expect some exciting things from him this fall."
The two other recruits are Matthew Mitchell and Chase Neinken, both forwards. Gelnovatch hopes that these two players will help to make Virginia's offensive attack more explosive.
Virginia finished second to Maryland in the ACC regular season standings last year. The Terrapins, who went on to win the national title, have lost two of their best players, including phenom forward Jason Garey. Virginia will be among the favorites in the ACC this season but Gelnovatch is used to expectations.
"With the nature of our program, expectations are high every year and they should be," he said. "We would like to compete for championships every year. This particular year, with the talent of our returning players, I'm looking forward to it. But there are 8 other teams in the ACC that are returning pretty good players too, so it will be a challenge."
Practice starts August 9.
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