They are young, experienced and talented. They boast the ACC's top recruiting class. They have the tools to beat anybody and they expect to beat everybody. They are the players of the Virginia men's soccer team, and this season, they are poised for redemption.\nLast year, several key injuries prevented the Cavaliers from continuing to develop and improve their extremely young squad - one that included as many as six freshmen in the starting lineup. Most notable among the injured was rookie sensation Tony Tchani, the team's season scoring leader despite sitting out the final four games. Fellow freshmen stars Brain Ownby and Chris Agorsor also struggled with injuries, preventing last year's freshmen class from scratching the surface of its potential.\nThe team's record reflected its struggles, as the Cavaliers lost three of their last four ACC contests to bring their conference record to a mediocre 4-4. Nonetheless, the resilience of the team shined through in the postseason, as they managed to take down previously unbeaten Wake Forest to advance to the ACC tournament final, where they fell to eventual national champion Maryland.\nWith players restored to full strength and a starting lineup that graduated just two players (midfielder Matt Poole and goalkeeper Michael Giallombardo), Virginia hopes to improve on last season's 11-9-1 record while remaining one of the most revered soccer programs in the country.\n"Hopefully, as we progress through the year, we can reach our goal of winning the ACC Championship and the national championship," senior captain Ross LaBauex said. "We've got a lot of good freshmen, a good core of seniors, so I think we have the recipe to be successful this year."\nThe Cavaliers' unique roster of young and experienced players makes them a threat to the rest of the conference.\n"It's an interesting combination of young and veteran players that I hope comes together and makes us a little bit more experienced," coach George Gelnovatch said.\nWhereas powerhouses Wake Forest and Maryland graduated a high percentage of their best players, Virginia enters the 2009 campaign with all of its top goal scorers from last season. Poole, who tallied three goals last season, is the only scorer who will not return.\nDespite the prospect of starting so many underclassmen, Gelnovatch remains confident that his team possesses the requisite experience to establish itself as a legitimate national title contender.\n"Generally, as a sophomore, you'd still be considered pretty young, but these guys got a lot of minutes under their belt, and I think that's going to go a long way," he said. "My hope is that all those minutes from those first-year guys that played last year, combined with a pretty strong senior class, will help us succeed."\nTchani - last year's ACC Freshman of the Year and one of just three conference players to be named to this year's prestigious Hermann Trophy Watch List - heads the Cavaliers' lethal sophomore class. Fellow sophomores Agorsor, redshirt Jimmy Simpson, Brian Ownby and Hunter Jumper combined with Tchani to score 25 of the team's 39 goals last season. If not for injuries and mistakes stemming from sheer inexperience, the total could have been greater.\n"I definitely want to score more goals than I did last year," said Ownby, who notched five goals last season. "I had a lot of chances last year, but being a rookie I guess I just wasn't used to the pressure. But I played in all the games last year so I know what it's like."\nAlongside this youthful group will be a solid senior class that includes LaBauex, Jonathan Villanueva, Matt Mitchell and Neil Barlow. Diego Restrepo, a junior transfer from the University of South Florida, likely will assume the bulk of the team's goalkeeping responsibilities.\nAdding fuel to the fire is the Cavaliers' stellar incoming freshmen class, which includes forwards Will Bates, Ahkeel Rodney and Shane Cooke, midfielders Marcus Douglas and Sean Murnane, and goalkeeper Will Whorton. The list features three U.S. Youth National Team members and an All-American. Bates, leader of two-time Virginia AAA state champion Thomas Dale High School, racked up 47 goals and 46 assists during his high school career.\nWith fitness training only recently completed and practice just underway, it would be difficult to assess how well this year's squad is gelling to this point. Cavalier players, however, do not hesitate to make their expectations clear.\n"We should be contending for an ACC championship, if not a national championship," Ownby said.\nVirginia played its first preseason game last night against George Mason at Kl
Read More
Volleyball falters against Boston College with NCAA Tournament spot at stake
By Lauren Halak | 2 days agoThe Cavaliers now await the announcement of the NCAA Tournament bracket Sunday.
Virginia obliterated 37-17 in Commonwealth Clash
By Peter Kriebel | 2 days agoThe Cavaliers lose to Virginia Tech once again, and have not conquered their hated rival since 2019.
On harsh own goal, men’s soccer loses to Massachusetts in NCAA Tournament
By Michael Liebermann | 2 days agoJoey Batrouni's heroics in goal were not enough to rescue Virginia.
