The second-ranked Virginia men’s soccer team plays the third and final game of its season-opening homestand against George Mason Tuesday night, looking to stay unbeaten before ACC play begins Friday.
The Cavaliers (1-0-1) will look to build off their first two games — a win and a tie against strong out-of-conference opponents — in their matchup against the Patriots (1-2-0), a dynamic team voted to finish third in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll.
The two teams met last year in Fairfax, Va., with the Cavaliers prevailing on a 56th minute goal from then-senior midfielder Eric Bird as Virginia dominated play throughout. Even without Bird this season, the Cavalier offense has proved promising, tallying over one more shot per game than last year and converting those opportunities into goals — something it struggled with last year.
The offense has been bolstered throughout the preseason and first two games by the play of the Cavaliers’ nationally-ranked recruiting class, which has been smoothly integrated into the Virginia rotation.
“Along the way you have to make sure that the common denominator is that you are really working and really competing, fighting for each other and creating that team concept as we work to put the pieces together as we have in years past,” coach George Gelnovatch said.
In preparing for this game, Virginia needed to develop a game plan to account for George Mason’s trio of young stars. Sophomore defender Alain Sargeant and sophomore forward Henning Dirks were standouts last season, earning A-10 All-Rookie team honors, while freshman forward Stephen Durbin was named to the preseason All-Rookie team and has already taken home A-10 Rookie of the Week honors.
“Over the past four years I’ve learned that every team is going to be different, and we have to adapt to how teams play and how we set up ourselves for the game,” senior midfielder Todd Wharton said. “That was a big thing for us in our run last year, was being able to adapt to changes in how we wanted to play and how other teams play.”
Beyond the young stars, George Mason boasts an explosive offense that ranked fifth in its conference in goals scored last season. Additionally, the Patriots have a strong back line, one that ranked tenth nationally in shutout percentage last season, which allows their forwards and midfielders to play a high, aggressive line.
“We’ve watched some video, and we know they are a team that presses and has some big guys for set pieces,” junior midfielder Riggs Lennon said.
Luckily for Gelnovatch and the Cavaliers, their defense is anchored by former U-20 National Team standout sophomore goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell, who won the starting job last season before being called to national team training camp duty.
“He’s very solid, has a great presence, and closes games out,” Gelnovatch said.
Although Virginia has started off its season without a loss, the team will certainly look to hit its stride and iron out any issues before conference play begins on Friday at Duke. The Cavaliers’ matchup Tuesday will kickoff at 7 p.m. from Klöckner Stadium.
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