Men's Soccer Hosts South Carolina Sunday

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November 25, 1998

No. 7 Virginia (15-3-3) vs. No. 6 South Carolina (16-4-0)Klockner StadiumCharlottesvilleNov. 29, 19982 p.m.

CAVALIERS ALL-TIME AGAINST USC: This will be the fourth meeting between the Cavaliers and Gamecocks with UVa holding a 2-0-1 in the all-time series. The last time these two met it was for everything in 1993. Virginia defeated USC 2-0 in that game for its third consecutive title and fourth in five years. The Wahoos and Cocks first met in 1989, also in the NCAA Tournament. In that game, the Cavaliers won 1-0 in overtime at Scott Stadium in the quarterfinals. The following year, the two played to a 1-1 tie in the final game of the Coca-Cola Classic in Charlottesville.

HTS TO TELEVISE MATCH: Home Team Sports (HTS) will broadcast Sunday’s match live from Klckner Stadium. This will be the first televised match for the Cavaliers since last season’s championship game against UCLA in Richmond.

UVa IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: The Cavaliers own a 34-13-4 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament to go along with five national titles. Virginia captured the crown in 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994. The Wahoos also reached the championship game last season, falling to UCLA 2-0. After losing to Howard 3-2 in double-overtime in the quarterfinals of the tournament, Virgina went six and a half years without losing an NCAA Tournament match. Along the way, UVa posted a 25-0-3 mark. Twice the Cavs tied Santa Clara in the championship game. The two teams were named co-champions in 1989, but UVa won the 1991 title thanks to a 3-1 advantage in penalty kicks. The only time during that span that Virginia did not advance was a tie with N.C. State in the quarterfinals. NCSU advanced 7-6 in penalty kicks. Duke ended the Cavalier reign over postseason play with a 3-2 victory over the Wahoos in the semifinals in 1995. Virginia is just 5-3-0 in its last eight NCAA Tournament matches, but 5-1 in its last six.

CAVALIERS IN THE SECOND ROUND: UVa boasts a 11-4-0 record in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. However, it has been more than a decade since the Cavaliers lost in the round of 16. After losing its first three second-round matches, Virginia defeated William & Mary 2-1 in the second round of the 1983 tournament. The last team to defeat the Wahoos in the second round was Loyola-Maryland 1-0 in 1987. Last season, the Cavaliers reached the quarterfinals with a 5-1 victory over Georgetown at Klckner Stadium in the second round.

WAHOOS SCORE EARLY, OUST RIDER: Ryan Trout scored from 24 yards on a free kick 8:51 into the match and the Cavaliers tacked on two more first-half goals en route to a 3-0 victory over Rider in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Sheldon Barnes netted the second goal at the 19:49 mark with assists from Drew O’Donnell and Steve Totten. Chris Albright capped the scoring with his 20th goal of the season 29:01 into the match with Totten again on the dishing end. It was the second two-assist game of the campaign for Totten. UVa outshot the Broncs 18-12, but did not manage a goal in the final 60-plus minutes of the match. Brock Yetso posted his seventh solo shutout of the season and improved his record to 11-3-2. It was the second consecutive season that Virginia posted a 3-0 victory in the first round. The Cavs downed Howard by that score in last year’s opener.

GEORGE REACHES 50: With the Cavaliers’ win over Rider, head coach George Gelnovatch reached 50 wins on his career. He is now 50-10-9 in three seasons, becoming the quickest ACC coach to ever reach 50 wins and the first to do so in three seasons.

ALBRIGHT TAKES OVER FOURTH PLACE: Chris Albright’s goal 29:01 into the match Sunday gave the sophomore forward 20 scores on the season. He is now all alone in fourth place all time at UVa for goals in a season, just three shy of A.J. Wood’s record of 23 set in 1994. One more goal for Albright would put him in a tie with Mike Fisher and Jeff Gaffney for second all-time at Virginia. It would also tie Gaffney’s school record for goals by a sophomore set in 1983. A native of Philadelphia, Albright also moved into sole possession of eighth in UVa history with 42 points this season.

YETSO STREAKING AGAIN: The 3-0 shutout against Rider gave senior keeper Brock Yetso his seventh solo shutout of the season. That ties him with four other Cavaliers for the fourth-most blanks on a campaign. Yetso has now not allowed a goal at Klckner Stadium since Oct. 28 against Fairleigh Dickinson a span of 201 minutes, 57 seconds in the net.

CAVS ACC STREAK COMES TO AN END: For the first time since 1989, the ACC Tournament championship game was without the Blue and Orange. The Cavaliers fell to third-seeded Duke 3-1 in overtime Friday in the semifinals to stop an unprecedented run of eight consecutive championship game appearances. Ironically, the Blue Devils were the team to keep Virginia out of the finals in 1989 with a 1-0 victory in the semifinals at Durham.

UNLIKELY HEROES STEP UP IN WINSTON-SALEM: Junior defender Michael Green netted the game-winner against North Carolina State in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. It was just his second career goal and the first game-winner of his career. Sophomore walk-on midfielder Curtis Bush put two goals in the net in his first three career shots on goal. Bush scored his first goal just 57 seconds after entering the game against the Wolfpack. Against Duke, he put a shot in the back of the net from 15 yards to tie the game 1-1 and send the match to overtime.

FIVE CAVALIERS NAMED ALL-ACC: Chris Albright, Matt Chulis and Jason Moore were named first-team All-ACC last week, while Sam Franklin and Brock Yetso picked up second-team honors. UVa tied Clemson for the most first-team selections with three. The Cavaliers’ five overall selections was bettered only by the Tigers’ six picks. For Chulis, it was All-ACC selection No. 3. Albright was a second-team selection in 1997 and Moore was the ACC Rookie of the Year a season ago.

FRANKLIN BOOTS OHIO STATE: Senior midfielder Sam Franklin nailed a one-timer from 20 yards at the 80:27 mark to lead the Cavaliers past Ohio State 1-0. Franklin, who was playing in his final regular-season home game, now has four goals on the year all game-winners. This one came thanks to a little fate. Matt Chulis passed to Steve Totten, who tried to pass to Chris Albright in the box. However, an OSU defender punched the ball out, but right to Franklin for the score. The goal put an end to a 229-minute, 39-second scoring drought for the Cavaliers, their longest such stretch since the 1981 season. Meanwhile, UVa notched its second straight shutout for the second time this year.

SAM’S THE MAN: Sam Franklin scored the game-winner in the Cavaliers’ victory over Ohio State. Franklin has a nack for scoring just at the right times. He has four goals this season and all of them are game-winners. Franklin, a senior from Arlington, has six goals on his career and 19 points.

JUST ANOTHER NOTCH IN THE BELT: No big news for senior defender Matt Chulis. The Cavaliers shutout of Rider gives Chulis 32 shutouts in his career at Virginia. The native of Central Islip, N.Y., has started every game in which he has played during his career on Grounds an impressive 91-game run. That ranks him in a tie for fifth in UVa history for career games played with Lyle Yorks. Chulis has also played every minute this year, something which no other Cavalier can claim. His 8,357 career minutes played ranks third all-time at UVa.

YETSO LANDS IN SECOND: Senior keeper Brock Yetso moved into second place all-time at Virginia against Ohio State in minutes played in goal. The Columbia, Md., native now has 4,312 minutes. However, barring a miracle, Yetso will remain in second for the rest of the way as the school record is 7,050 by Jeff Causey.

CAVALIERS, TRIBE SLIP, SLIDE TO STANDSTILL: Virginia and the College of William & Mary played 120 minutes last week and solved nothing. The game ended in a 0-0 tie after a pair of extra periods on a rain-drenched sod of the Virginia Beach SportsPlex. The field, which is prescription athletic turf, remained in relatively good condition; however, a steady mist of rain and temperatures in the low 40s made playing conditions less than favorable. It was the first scoreless tie for the Cavs since Sept. 7, 1997 when the ‘Hoos and Maryland knotted without scoring.

ALBRIGHT CLIMBING CHARTS: Sophomore forward Chris Albright now has 18 goals on the season. He leads the team in that category and ranks second in the ACC. Albright is just five goals shy of A.J. Wood’s UVa record of 23 goals in a season, which was set in 1994. The Virginia sophomore record is 21 by Jeff Gaffney in 1983. Albright is also vying to become the first sophomore to lead the team outright in both scoring and goals since Gaffney in 1983.

ALBRIGHT ON THREE SOCCER AMERICA TEAMS: Sophomore forward Chris Albright was named to Soccer America’s national collegiate team of the week three times during the regular season. His last selection came for the week of Nov. 2, his second consecutive week on the team, after Albright netted a pair of goals in both UVa games the previous week, including the game-winner in both matches.

WAHOOS CLAIM 500th WIN: UVa’s ramatic 2-1 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson gave Virginia its 500th all-time win in men’s soccer. The Cavaliers become the first team in Atlantic Coast Conference men’s soccer history with 500 victories (Duke currently ranks second with 492 all-time wins). The majority of UVa’s victories have come in the last 20 years, with the Cavaliers posting a 344-68-40 record since 1978. Entering the FDU game, Virginia’s all-time record stands at 502-232-78 for a .666 winning percentage.

ALBRIGHT DUBBED ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sophomore forward Chris Albright was named ACC Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 19 thanks to his one-goal, one-assist performance against Duke. Albright assisted Steve Totten’s first-half goal to put UVa up 1-0. In the second half, after the Devils had taken a 2-1 lead, he tied the score with his 14th goal of the season in the 82nd minute.

WRIGHT’S DINK DUMPS DEVILS: Freshman Rob Wright trickled a shot past Duke keeper Alti Knuttson and just inside the left post with 12 seconds remaining Sunday to give the Cavaliers a 3-2 win over then-No. 3 Duke in Charlottesville. UVa took a 1-0 lead thanks to a Steve Totten goal five minutes into the match. However, a pair of second-half Duke goals gave the Devils a 2-1 lead with less than 12 minutes to play. In the 82nd minute, Chris Albright netted his 14th goal of the season to knot the score 2-2 before Wright hit the game winner just minutes later. It was the fourth consecutive victory against Duke for the Cavaliers, who now lead the all-time series 29-26-7.

CAVALIERS GO 1-1 AT COCA-COLA CLASSIC: Virginia rebounded from its opening day loss in the Coca-Cola Classic to defeat the Adelphi Panthers 3-0. Five different Cavaliers scored in the game as the Cavaliers rebounded from their first loss of the season. Matt Chulis, Sam Franklin, and Chris Albright were all named to the All-Tournament team. Marshall, a team the Cavaliers had defeated 4-0 earlier in the month, claimed the title with a pair of overtime victories.

VIRGINIA CLAIMS THREE M.A.C. DADDIES: Virginia’s Chris Albright, Matt Chulis, and Jason Moore are all candidates for the 1998 Missouri Athletic Club Sports Foundation Collegiate Player of the Year. Virginia is the only school with three representatives on the candidate list.

ALBRIGHT’S ALL RIGHT: Chris Albright’s multiple-goal game against Buffalo marked the third time that the sophomore has tallied multiple goals in a game this season and the fifth time in his career. He has also tallied three game-winning goals this season. He was named the ACC Player of the Week for his efforts in the games against Buffalo and ACC-rival N.C. State. He scored a goal in the N.C. State game.

GREEN’S NOT ALL THAT GREEN: Michael Green showed his veteran poise by collecting an assist on the game-winning goal against N.C. State and adding an insurance goal near the end of the game. It was his second game-winning assist in his career and his first career goal.

GEORGE PULLS INTO SECOND: With the Cavaliers’ ninth win in 1998, Virginia third-year head coach George Gelnovatch has reached 44 wins at Virginia, making him the second-winningest coach in Virginia soccer history. His 40th win put him just ahead of former mentor Gene Corrigan (1958-65). Corrigan, who later became the Commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference after his stint as Virginia’s soccer coach, finished with a record of 39-35-7 (.525) while Gelnovatch has a current record of 48-9-9 (.795). He now trails only Bruce Arena (295-59-31 in 18 seasons). In addition, Gelnovatch needs two more wins this season to become the first men’s soccer coach in Atlantic Coast Conference history to record 50 victories by the end of his third season. He also has a chance to become the first ACC coach to reach 50 wins before he has 10 losses.

800!!: The Cavaliers’ game against Marshall was the program’s 800th in school history. With the win, Virginia improved its all-time winning percnetage to .665.

RIDING THE WAKE: The Cavaliers, who have never lost in Winston-Salem, pulled another victory out against Wake Forest earlier this season. With the Demon Deacons leading 2-1 with under five minutes to go, Steve Totten found the ball at his feet on the endline and the Wake keeper at the near post. Totten lifted the ball to the far post and into the net, sending the game into overtime. Virginia played the entire game without the services of 1997 ACC Rookie of the Year Jason Moore, who left the game in the first two minutes of play with an injury.

ALBRIGHT HAT TRICKS HOKIES: Chris Albright continued continued his torrid scoring streak with a hat trick against Virginia Tech. It was the first hat trick by a Cavalier since Matt Leonard struck three times against Liberty on October 1, 1997.

TOTTEN SPLASHES IN: Midfielder Steve Totten earned Soccer America team of the week honors Sept. 15 in just his second week of collegiate play. One of only four players to start every game this season and the only freshman to do so, Totten was an NSCAA and Parade All-American at the Peddie School in Allentown, N.J., last year.

BARNES GETS FIRST GOAL AGAINST MARYLAND: Freshman forward Sheldon Barnes scored the first goal of his collegiate career in the victory over Maryland. Barnes scored an unassisted goal to give the Cavaliers a 3-0 lead in the 43rd minute, stealing the ball on the right flank and dribbling past a defender before scoring from 16 yards out in the right side of the box. He scored his first career point a week earlier with an assist on the game-winning goal against San Diego, winning the ball at midfield and sending it to Ryan Trout in the center, before Trout found the net for the only goal of the game. Last year, Barnes was the Florida state Player of the Year, while also earning high school All-America honors from both Parade and the NSCAA.

TROUT CONTINUES TO SCORE: Sophomore forward Ryan Trout has been a key part of the UVa offense this season, scoring four goals and assisting on nine others. He is tied for third on the team in goals and leads the squad in assists. Trout now has 34 points in his UVa career on seven goals and 20 assists, with three of his goals and five of his assists being game-winners. He is in 11th place all-time at Virginia in career assists, two shy of a six-way tie for 10th.

WRIGHT MAKES FIRST GOAL A BIG ONE: Freshman forward Rob Wright, who joined the team as a walk-on in August, scored the first goal of his collegiate career in the victory over Lehigh. Wright’s goal was the game winner, as he knocked in a cross by Ryan Trout from six yards out at the far post after the ball had found its way through traffic. Then, he scored the game winner Oct. 25 against Duke with 12 seconds remaining in regulation play. Wright, who has seen action in 17 games (16 off the bench and one as a starter), led his district in scoring and was named first-team all-state last season at First Colonial High School in Virginia Beach.

CHULIS, MOORE NAMED HERMANN TROPHY FINALISTS: Senior defender Matt Chulis and sophomore midfielder Jason Moore are among the 15 finalists who have been named for the 32nd annual Hermann Trophy. Chulis and Moore make Virginia one of only four schools to have more than one finalist, along with Duke, Indiana and UCLA. The winner of the Hermann Trophy will be announced on Dec. 12 in Richmond, Va. Three Cavs have received the honor on four occasions Tony Meola (1989), Claudio Reyna (1993) and Mike Fisher (1995 and 1996).

MOORE LENDS A HAND … ER, FOOT: Sophomore midfielder Jason Moore has continued to show his value to the Cavaliers as one of the top passers and ball handlers on the squad. Moore has seven assists this season, second on the team, and three of them were game-winners. Over the course of his UVa career, he now has a total of 16 assists, with seven of them coming on game-winning goals. Moore has started 17 of UVa’s 18 games this fall.

ALBRIGHT STARS FOR UNDER-20 NATIONAL TEAM: Sophomore forward Chris Albright scored four goals and one assist in three games as the United States under-20 team finished in first place in CONCACAF qualifying, held in Trinidad in early August. Albright scored two goals in a 5-1 victory over Canada, then added two goals and an assist in a 6-1 win against Trinidad & Tobago. In both contests, Albright scored the first goal of the game. The U.S. played Costa Rica to a 1-1 tie in its other game. By finishing with their 2-0-1 record, the Americans earn a spot in the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship, to be played in Nigeria next April.