The second-ranked Cavalier men’s soccer team hosts Tulsa Friday night, looking to avenge a gut-wrenching 1-0 double-overtime loss from last season.
Virginia (1-0-0) looks to build continuity and resolve this season, building off last weekend’s season-opening win over Charlotte. Although the Cavaliers clearly had the edge, they tired late and look to this week as time to recover before they host Tulsa (1-0-1), a team that upset them in Oklahoma last September.
“We start off with recovering, take it easy on Monday and on Tuesday we start out strong and get some work in,” junior midfielder Riggs Lennon said. “Towards the end of the week we start to focus on the opponent ahead … and then set up in our formation to adapt to Tulsa’s play and work on our tactics.”
Tulsa is one of three strong out-of-conference matchups coach George Gelnovatch has scheduled as the Cavaliers, once again, boast one of the most difficult schedules in the nation.
“The past five years our schedule has always been [No.] 1 or 2 in [the] NCAA’s RPI index,” Gelnovatch said. “I believe that we have the depth and the talent to make a schedule like that with the understanding that we’re probably going to lose some, but with our schedule … you’re playing great teams.You’re going to win some of them, and that recipe has worked for us.”
That recipe worked to perfection last season, when Virginia hit its stride as a 16-seed in the NCAA tournament, knocking off national powerhouses Georgetown and UCLA on the way to a national championship.
“I think it’s good for us to see what we’re up against, and get our confidence up,” Lennon said. “Because you want to peak at the end of the season, towards the ACCs and NCAAs, so I think we get that hard competition early and by the end we’re ready for whoever it is.”
Virginia’s road-opener loss to the Golden Hurricane last season was humbling for a team ranked third in preseason. In a hostile environment, the Cavaliers struggled throughout, kept alive by the play of goalkeeper Calle Brown who recorded a career-high nine saves.
“They pretty much dominated us at their place last year,” senior midfielder Todd Wharton said. “So them coming up here this year will be a lot different, but we know they’re going to come out strong just like every team will … and we’ll be ready for them.”
What was most notable that night — beyond Brown’s play and Tulsa’s defense — was the atmosphere at Hurricane Stadium, which was over capacity at 2,234 fans. Virginia’s home field, Klöckner Stadium, has often been referred to as one of college soccer’s loudest atmospheres, so as Tulsa comes to visit, the team will be looking for noise and energy from the entire fanbase.
“Their crowd was out and rowdy,” Lennon said. “We need to show them Klöckner, we’ve got to prove to them that it was a fluke. We call Klöckner the fortress, so we want everyone out there supporting us and showing them what we can do at home.”
For Virginia to achieve that goal, it must be disciplined in training this week under the watchful gaze of Gelnovatch, who is in his 20th season, seeking the team’s third championship in seven years.
“Fitness and form,” Gelnovatch said. “Getting everybody on the same page at this time of year. You have so little time to get your team fit and in form, so that’s a primary focus early on.”
Additionally, Gelnovatch and his staff will be looking to further incorporate the team’s new recruiting class, acclimating them to stiffer competition and pushing them in training.
“It’s tough every year, because every first-year class is different,” Wharton said. “These guys have a good attitude, they’ve got immense talent … but we’re pushing them along and letting them know they’re going to get through it.”
This preparation will be integral Friday. Tulsa boasts the AAC preseason defensive player of the year, senior defender Bradley Bourgeois, who may be the best defender Virginia’s trio of freshman standouts — defender Malcolm Dixon, forward Edward Opoku and midfielder Derrick Etienne — has played against.
Luckily, with the Cavaliers’ challenging preseason and tough first match, this class’s transition has been swifter.
“I don’t think I have to convey [how tough this is]; we’ve already played Georgetown and Charlotte, two of the toughest teams we’re going to play all year,” Gelnovatch said. “We’re only three weeks in and I think they know, just with the teams we’ve played to date.”
The third matchup ever between the two teams will kickoff Friday night at 7 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium.
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