Junior Yannick Reyering's hat trick Tuesday night was his first as a Cavalier. Scoring three goals to lift the Virginia men's soccer team to a 3-0 victory against Liberty, the 23-year-old German native captured a spot on Virginia's top 10 list for career goals.
With 12 goals this season, Reyering leads the ACC in goals and points, and his 38 career goals place him ninth in school history. He is now 11 shy of overtaking the Cavaliers' fifth all-time most prolific scorer, Virginia coach George Gelnovatch.
"He is a very good finisher," Gelnovatch said. "If he gets service and he's in the box, he is going to score his goals."
Since arriving at Virginia in 2005, Reyering has been the Cavaliers' top scorer every season. As a rookie, he was not only named first-team All-ACC but led the Cavaliers in goals (14), points (30), game-winning goals (5) and shots (60). In his second year with the team, he continued to dominate offensively, scoring 12 goals, half of which were game-winners.
Having already tallied 12 goals and 24 points so far this season, and with a minimum of five games to go, Reyering is on pace to have his best year yet with the Cavaliers.
"I think that the change in the system we had from last year to this year helps me get more scoring chances and opportunities," Reyering said."Having Chris [Tierney] and Johnny [Villanueva] on the left and then [Matt] Mitchell and Chase [Neinken] on the right playing the crosses in, and Jeremy [Barlow] and Ross [LaBauex] in the midfield, they all do a great job of supporting me. They help in getting me those goals."
Reyering's consistency often amazes fans. For example, he is 8-for-8 when taking penalty kicks during regulation time. It is a skill he admits practicing, and he has reached the point where he rarely ever misses.
Although academically only a junior, Reyering's third season with the Cavaliers will nevertheless be his last.
"I will miss a lot; I will miss the team and everyone that I have met here, all the friends I have made," Reyering said. "It's a great environment with this program and this team and the people who surround it."
NCAA rules stipulate that anyone who has ever been a professional soccer player -- in other words, who has been paid to play -- is ineligible at the collegiate level. Though Reyering has never been financially compensated, he did spend a year with a German club team that competed against professional squads. Consequently, the NCAA ruled that his one year with the club team would count against his eligibility in the United States.
"After my first year, when they took away a year of eligibility I stopped thinking about it," Reyering said. "I've just focused on my three years. Sometimes it just ends and it is sad, but I have had a great time."
Next year, Reyering is likely to take one of two paths. He may follow in the footsteps of former teammate and current New England Revolution striker Adam Cristman by joining Major League Soccer or he may return home to pursue an opportunity with a European club. At present, however, Reyering is focused on leading this Cavalier squad to a successful postseason.
"Those are the two options I am looking at right now, but I haven't decided what I am going to do after," Reyering said. "I don't know what's going to come in December or what my future is going to look like, so I can't really give you an answer just yet. Right now I am just focusing on playing the best season and having big success at U.Va."
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