If something, somewhere along the rollercoaster of this Virginia men’s soccer season, tickled your memory, there’s probably a good reason why. The season featured the same early-season struggles, early-October resurgence and high NCAA Tournament seed as the previous two. And the same conclusion, a loss at home to an unseeded team.
This season, the loss came for the No. 11 seed Cavaliers in the third round against Massachusetts, a 1-0 defeat Nov. 30 that ended things just as the bracket had seemed to open up. With another season ending prematurely, two beat writers reflect on the season, the state of the program and the future.
Where does this season fall on the spectrum from success to failure?
Michael Liebermann, Senior Associate: It tilts toward failure, for sure, but disappointment is probably a better word. In a preseason interview with Coach George Gelnovatch, he talked about getting “over the hump,” about finally surmounting the hurdle of the third round in the postseason. Virginia’s inability to do that outweighs its blistering run of form in October, during which the Cavaliers won five matches in a row. Injuries, in fairness, shafted them. The team’s best offensive player, junior forward Reese Miller, tore his ACL five games in. Graduate midfielder Willem Ebbinge, a former first-team All-Ivy selection at Harvard, never played because of injury. The mid-season run promised so much, but, again, the year ended with a bunch of shellshocked players meandering off the field and wondering what had just happened, why a talented group that exhibited such potential dropped out of the tournament so early.
Mofeoluwa Akande, Staff Writer: The way this fall campaign panned out, with its highs and lows, lands smack dead in the middle of success and failure. The tale of mediocre results continues to haunt Virginia as another season comes to a premature close. Picked preseason to finish sixth in the revamped ACC, it took the Cavaliers a mid-season recalibration to even come close to that position, at ninth. After a shaky start to the year, a run that peaked with an ACC quarterfinal win over powerhouse Pittsburgh shook some life into what seemed like a lost season. Entering the NCAA Tournament as a top-16 seed definitely stands as an accomplishment, but the early exit to an unseeded squad dimmed the narrative.
How do we explain this string of early exits, and what does it mean?
ML: Let’s first provide the context. Virginia has now earned a top-16 seed in three straight NCAA Tournaments — No. 4 in 2022, No. 7 in 2023 and No. 11 this season. It lost at home to unseeded teams each time, Marshall and then Indiana and now Massachusetts. No program has matched that torrid run of seeding, and therefore no program has suffered the letdown that accompanies the collapses. But as far as explanations for these last few seasons, this is a simple case of circumstance. Gelnovatch can win in the postseason. We know that from his two national championships and his trip five years ago to the College Cup final. A couple altered bounces against Indiana, a couple converted penalty kicks against Marshall and the present conversation never exists. A fresh breakthrough, at this rate, is just a matter of time.
MA: This trend of premature losses has been an unavoidable concern recently. Maybe it has something to do with inconsistent play throughout the season that eventually bleeds into the postseason. Falling short in early matches and then scrambling to squeeze out wins later in the year puts a toll on player performance in the postseason, draining the tank and making it harder to win tournament games. Virginia needs to find a way to win early, like it did in 2019 on the way to a national title appearance, winning 11 games before taking a loss. That would set the tone for the latter end of its season and give the team a chance to recoup before the grit of tournament play.
Does Virginia have to take a hard look at its coaching staff?
ML: Not yet. The message-board grumblings have arrived, and the mutters from frustrated fans leaving Klöckner Stadium have, too. They came after the early-season winless streak and again after the season ended. You can understand the source of the disgruntlement. A decade has now passed since the most recent national championship, and people around this program expect better. The streak of 39 straight NCAA Tournaments ended in 2020, the last three postseasons have delivered disappointment and thoughts about ending Gelnovatch’s 29-year tenure have crept in. But this is also an era of unprecedented parity in college soccer. The signs are everywhere that winning, even for programs doing everything right, has never been harder. Gelnovatch has navigated it all, keeping his program at the top, not dropping far from the standard he set with six College Cups and two national titles. There is no reason to stop trusting him and his staff.
MA: There's no need for a hard look now, but it may be time to at least start paying attention to the program’s future. Gelnovatch, over his 29 years, has put Virginia in the best position possible to succeed. His legacy as head coach comes with high expectations, and when those expectations fall short, his effectiveness will surely be assessed and questioned. No coach is perfect, and Gelnovatch, for all his success, is not infallible. That is not to say he should be held at fault right now. But if Virginia continues to cement itself in the middle of the pack, it would at least warrant a holistic look at the direction of the program.
Which player are you looking at to break out next season?
ML: Gelnovatch said a rather arresting thing after Virginia’s second-round NCAA Tournament win over West Virginia. Sophomore forward AJ Smith, ridden with injuries all season but finally healthy, had just scored and assisted. Gelnovatch, in the on-field scrum, said the following: “I don’t think you’ve seen half of what he’s capable of doing if he gets fit.” This also came two games after a Smith goal salted away top-seeded Pittsburgh in the ACC Tournament. The 6-foot-4 junior college transfer played just 351 minutes this season in eight appearances, never reaching full fitness. But he served as a shrewd target man when deployed, somehow always maneuvering his large frame into position, finishing when the chances came. Next season should be a coming-out party.
MA: In a 4-1 loss against Pittsburgh Oct. 25, freshman forward Joaquín Brizuela’s lone goal was the team’s shimmer of light in the darkness. The goal marked the second of what would be four goals in three games — the most productive cluster of goal-scoring the team saw this season. After Miller’s devastating injury, there was a need to fill the offensive hole that gaped on the roster. Brizuela did a fine job holding it down as a newcomer, finishing tied for second on the team in goals. His brilliance was on display late in the season, and his light will continue to shine for a Cavalier team that at times can struggle to capitalize on chances. Moreover, having played in matches of high magnitude already, Brizuela will be built to take on whatever comes his way.
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