The Virginia men's soccer team appeared to be on cloud nine in mid October of 2005. Their 10-1-2 record garnered them the No. 2 ranking in the country. However, things took a sudden turn for the worse soon after as the No. 6 Maryland Terrapins humbled the Cavaliers 3-0.
Virginia would only win two out of its final 6 matches, including a 2-1 defeat at the hands of North Carolina in the third round of the NCAA tournament. The Tar Heels avenged a 2-0 loss earlier that season to Virginia at Klöckner Stadium and the Cavaliers were left short of a storybook ending after a superb start to the season.
"I think we ended on a bitter note last year, but we shored a lot of things up in the off-season," senior goalie Ryan Burke said. "We all learned a lot and now everyone is a year more mature and we're a better team because of it."
Yet a new season brings revived hope and high expectations. Virginia is ranked as high as third in the nation according to Soccer America magazine, and the Cavaliers were picked earlier this year to finish 2nd in the ACC behind the Tar Heels.
One of the reasons for these lofty rankings is that Virginia brings back ten of their eleven starters from last year's top-25 team, including first team all-ACC selection Yannick Reyering. The sophomore forward impressed with a team-high 14 goals, including five game-winning scores. His performance earned him All-American honors as a freshman and he now has a chance to lead the team as co-captain with Burke.
Burke has spent over 5,000 minutes in front of the goal for the Cavaliers during a career that includes 59 starts and an impressive 20 shutouts. Still, Virginia understands that experience is just one part of a winning formula.
"Let's hope it pays off," Burke said. "That way it was all worth something. I think we've got a lot of guys that have that experience, and, as far as leadership, it's just [a matter of determining] how are we going to contribute."
Virginia helped their cause immensely this off-season by compiling one of the top recruiting classes in the country. This has offered coach George Gelnovatch a unique set of challenges.
"With the depth and talent of this team, these guys have put a lot of pressure on me [in terms of whom to play]." Gelnovatch said. "That's a great problem to have, but I'm going to put the guys on the field who are best suited for our team, not individually."
One Cavalier who may see the field a great deal is Jonathan Villanueva. The freshman midfielder comes to Charlottesville with high accolades, and the tag of the No. 1 soccer recruit in the country, according to School Sports magazine. Even though he may be new to the collegiate level, Villanueva is far from inexperienced in top competition. He was a U.S. National team member in 2003 and a four-time state champion. Villaneuva's playing style has drawn favorable comparisons to former U.S. captain and Cavalier Claudio Reyna.
"Claudio was a young kid when he first came here too, Gelnovatch said. "He's got that smoothness. Jonathan's not ready to take over the game yet. He may be a year from now or a month from now, but we just have to bring him along because he is very talented and very gifted."
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