Less than a month into his collegiate career, freshman goalkeeper Spencer LaCivita already stands comfortably and confidently between the pipes in his relatively new role for the No. 24 Virginia men's soccer team. Following an accolade-filled high school career at Millbrook High School in North Carolina, LaCivita is living up to his potential and is off to a fine start as a part of one of collegiate soccer's preeminent programs.
After graduating high school a semester early and arriving in Charlottesville in January, LaCivita earned the starting goalkeeper job three weeks ago, just before the start of the regular season. Virginia coach George Gelnovatch selected LaCivita ahead of redshirt sophomore Matt Miscione and redshirt freshman Calle Brown for the season opener against West Virginia, and LaCivita has performed admirably to lock down the role thus far. He has allowed four goals, made 13 saves and recorded one shutout in his four games with Virginia (3-1).
"The competition has been the toughest I've ever been a part of," LaCivita said. "Matt and Calle are both great goalkeepers. I would say I've pushed them, and they've pushed me to get better. I've been fortunate enough to get the opportunity to play in the first few games, and I'm just trying to make the most of each game."
Entering the 2011 season, one of the Cavaliers' top priorities was developing a replacement for two-year starter Diego Restrepo. Restrepo, a crucial member of the 2009 ACC and NCAA Championship-winning team, left big shoes to fill and set the bar high for his successor. During the 2009 campaign, Restrepo set school records with 11 consecutive shutouts, 16 shutouts overall and a 1,176-minute scoreless streak. Last year, he wrapped up his career with a 29-9-6 record.
"It has been very humbling," LaCivita said. "Everyone's been telling me he set all these school records in only two years ... That's my goal to someday be there on that level, to be just as good as Diego."
Despite the urge to compare LaCivita and Restrepo, Virginia assistant coach Michael Behonick, who works primarily with the team's goalies, noted that his new pupil plays a fundamentally different style from the more polished Restrepo.
"The similarities are that they're both hard-working guys who want to learn more," Behonick said. "One of the [advantages] that Spencer has over Diego is his ability to deal with crosses, but Diego was a better shot-stopper. We're working with Spencer more on angles and shot-stopping."
Although it is unusual for an inexperienced player to take control of such a crucial spot in the starting 11 at such an early stage, LaCivita said that he came into summer workouts with precisely that goal in mind. As one of the nation's top recruits - Top Drawer Soccer ranked him the No. 3 goalie in the Class of 2011 and No. 24 player overall - LaCivita enrolled at Virginia with high expectations.
While at Millbrook High School, LaCivita was named an All-State athlete three straight years and earned All-American honors from a panel of voters from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. After winning only three games the season before LaCivita came to the school, Millbrook won 19 games with LaCivita starting every game during his first season with the team.
"We went really deep in the state playoffs, and he was the same guy in every game, no matter how big," Millbrook coach Matt Edwards recalled. "We were at Panther Creek, the hot team at the time, and we got up 2-0. They pounded us in the second half and must have taken 15 shots. Spencer just saved one after another to keep the momentum and buckle down. Goalkeepers aren't supposed to win you games, but he could just crush an opponent by making them think they couldn't score on him."
While at Millbrook, LaCivita also starred for a youth academy team in the Capital Area Soccer League affiliated with English powerhouse Chelsea. Playing for a team that annually produces numerous Division I players, LaCivita shone with 19 shutouts and gained leadership experience as the team's captain.
In 2007, LaCivita even garnered attention from the U.S. National Team program when he was selected for the U.S. under-17 national team residency camp.
Despite some exposure to high-level competition, LaCivita came to Virginia as a raw talent and took his lumps during the spring. The first player in program history to enroll early, LaCivita is also known as a hardworking student in the classroom, which enabled him to get a head start.
Training every day, lifting weights and receiving specialized goalkeeper training for the first time in his life, LaCivita struggled at times but impressed coaches with his relentless work ethic.
"I think [the spring] was a little bit of a rude awakening," Gelnovatch said. "I don't think that he, or us, saw enough at the end of the spring to say, 'That's our guy.' To his credit though, he stayed the course, worked hard, never complained ... Then the preseason came, and all of that hard work, now we're starting to see the dividends."
When Gelnovatch chose LaCivita to begin the season as the team's goalkeeper, he did so with the caveat that the precocious freshman was not guaranteed his spot if he began to appear overmatched. Up to this point, LaCivita has ensured that his coach would not be faced with a decision to look toward the bench.
"I would love to establish myself as the No. 1 keeper and play on a consistent basis," LaCivita said. "[I] just keep growing each game and improve every single day"
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