Men's Soccer Weekly Release
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September 18, 1998
THE GAME:
Virginia (4-0-1) at Wake Forest (4-1-0)
Spry Stadium – Winston-Salem, N.C. – Sept. 19, 1998 – 7:00 p.m.
THE SERIES WITH WAKE FOREST: Today’s game will be the 24th in the series between these two ACC schools, with Virginia holding a 19-2-2 record. The Cavaliers have won the last ten games against the Demon Deacons, a streak since 1991. Virginia has never lost in Winston-Salem.
ACCTING LIKE CHAMPIONS: Virginia has won six of the seven ACC Championships in the 1990’s, and their success in the postseason has reflected their in-season success. Virginia has won 30 if its last 43 ACC-contests and has tied six others for a 30-7-6 record over the last seven-plus seasons.
ALBRIGHT HAT TRICKS HOKIES: Chris Albright continued continued his torrid scoring streak with a hat trick against Virginia Tech. Albright, the team’s leading scorer in 1997, also is leading the team in 1998 with 12 points on six goals. Albright’s six goals is more than the rest of the team combined. It was the first hat trick by a Cavalier since Matt Leonard struck three times against Liberty on October 1, 1997. It was his second consecutive multiple-goal game and his fourth in his career.
TOTTEN SPLASHES IN: The Cavaliers’ Steve Totten has already made an impact on ACC soccer has he scored a goal and added two assists in the Cavaliers’ 4-1 victory over Maryland. In his first ACC game, Totten opened the scoring at the 8:40 mark when he took a pass from Jason Moore in the right side of the penalty box and found the net from 12 yards out. He then had an assist on the Cavaliers’ next goal, intercepting a pass in the Maryland end and sending the ball ahead to Chris Albright in the box for the score. Totten added a second assist on Virginia’s final score, taking a pass from Drew O’Donnell in the left side of the box and playing it toward the center, where Albright headed the ball into the net. Totten, who scored his first goal as a Cavalier in the Cal State Fullerton game, is now ranked in scoring with six points on two goals and two assists. One of three freshmen to start all four games this season for the Cavaliers, Totten was an NSCAA and Parade All-American at the Peddie School in Allentown, N.J., last year. He was named to Soccer America’s team of the week for September 15.
GEORGE and GENE: With the Cavaliers’ fourth win in 1998, Virginia third-year head coach George Gelnovatch has reached 39 wins at Virginia, putting him into a tie with 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 39-7-7 (.802). Gelnovatch’s next win will place him alone in second place on Virginia’s all-time win chart for coaches, trailing only Bruce Arena (295-59-31/18 years). In addition, Gelnovatch needs 11 more wins this season to become the first men’s soccer coach in Atlantic Coast Conference history to record 50 victories in his first three seasons. He also has a chance to become the first ACC-coach to reach 50 wins before he has 10 losses.
HAT TRICK AGAINST VIRGINIA TECH: With Virginia’s 3-0 win over Tech on Wednesday, the Cavaliers have now scored three goals against the Hokies in three consecutive games.
ALBRIGHT FINDS THE NET TWICE AGAINST MARYLAND: Sophomore forward Chris Albright, the Cavaliers’ top returning scorer from 1997, had a pair of goals in Saturday’s victory over Maryland. His first goal was the game winner, when he ran onto a pass from Steve Totten in the right side of the penalty box and one-timed it into the net from 14 yards away. Albright also scored Virginia’s final goal of the game, when he headed in a pass from Totten from 12 yards out in the center. With that performance Albright has now scored two goals in a game three times in his career and twice against ACC-opponents. Last year he scored twice against both Akron and Wake Forest. Albright was named the Offensive MVP of the season-opening Fila Classic.
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.
CAVALIERS HAVE UNCHARACTERISTIC GAME AGAINST MARYLAND: The series between Virginia and Maryland has been marked by a number of close games over the last few years, making the Cavaliers’ 4-1 victory over the Terrapins last Saturday very surprising. Prior to that contest, UVa had totaled only three goals in its previous four games against Maryland (a 1-1 tie and a 2-0 loss in 1996, and a 0-0 tie and a 2-0 win in 1997). The four goals on Saturday marked the most by the Cavaliers against the Terrapins since a 4-2 victory at Kloeckner Stadium in 1994, with the three-goal margin of victory being the largest in the series since a 5-1 UVa win at Kloeckner in 1992. In addition, Maryland suffered its worst regular season loss since falling to Clemson 5-1 in 1993.
TROUT CONTINUES TO SCORE: Sophomore forward Ryan Trout has been a key part of the UVa offense so far this season, scoring one of the Cavaliers’ goals and assisting on three others. Against San Diego Trout took a pass from Sheldon Barnes and chipped a shot over the goalkeeper from 25 yards out in the center to record the game-winning goal. In the Cal State Fullerton game he took a pass from Drew O’Donnell in the right corner and sent a cross into the box which Steve Totten volleyed in for the goal. Then against Lehigh Trout had assists on both goals, with Chris Albright heading in a cross for the first goal and Rob Wright knocking in a cross for the game winner. Trout now has 22 points in his UVa career on four goals and 14 assists, with three of his goals being game winners.
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 Wednesday’s 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. Wright, who has seen action in all four of the Cavaliers’ games off the bench, led his district in scoring and was named first team all-state last season at First Colonial High School in Virginia Beach.
SPREADING IT AROUND: The Cavaliers have used a balanced offensive attack so far this season while posting a 4-0-1 record in their first five games. Virginia has scored eleven goals on the year, with five different players finding the net. Ryan Trout scored the game winner against San Diego, while Steve Totten had the Cavaliers’ lone goal in the Cal State Fullerton game. Against Lehigh both Chris Albright and Rob Wright found the net for UVa, while Albright scored twice and Totten and Sheldon Barnes added goals in the Maryland contest. Albright added a hat trick and was UVa’s only goal-scorer against Virginia Tech.
YETSO HAS ANOTHER STRONG PERFORMANCE AGAINST MARYLAND: Senior goalkeeper Brock Yetso turned in another outstanding performance in Saturday’ victory over Maryland. Yetso faced 10 Terrapin shots and made three saves while allowing only one goal. Over the course of his career, Yetso has now faced Maryland three times and allowed only one goal in 300 minutes while making 10 saves. For the season he has posted an 0.64 goals against average while making seven saves and recording a victory in each of his three appearances. Yetso also has 99 career saves entering the Virginia Tech game and needs only one more to become the seventh player in school history with at least 100 saves.
UVA ONLY SEVEN WINS AWAY FROM 500: With seven more victories this season, Virginia will record the 500th win in the history of its men’s soccer program. When the Cavaliers reach that milestone, they will become the first team in Atlantic Coast Conference men’s soccer history with 500 victories (Duke currently ranks second with 482 all-time wins). The majority of UVa’s victories have come in the last 20 years, with the Cavaliers posting a 334-66-38 record since the beginning of the 1978 season. Entering the Wake Forest game, Virginia’s all-time record stands at 493-230-75 for a .665 winning percentage.
CHULIS AND 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. If either Chulis or Moore wins the award he would be the fourth player in school history to receive the honor, along with Tony Meola (1989), Claudio Reyna (1993) and Mike Fisher (1995 and 1996).
MOORE GETS ANOTHER ASSIST IN TECH GAME: 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 played the entire 90 minutes against Virginia Tech, adding an assist on Albright’s second goal to put the Cavaliers ahead 2-0. Moore sent in a booming free kick into the box from 40 yards out where Albright headed it into the net passed the surprised goalie. Against Maryland he had an assist on Virginia’s opening goal, taking the ball from the left side near midfield and sending a pass to Steve Totten for the score. Moore had recorded his first assist of the season in the previous game against Lehigh, with it coming on the game-winning goal. Moore took a free kick from 25 yards out in the center and played the ball to Ryan Trout in the right side of the box, before Trout crossed the ball to Rob Wright for the goal. Over the course of his UVa career Moore now has a total of 12 assists, with five of them coming on game-winning goals.
O’DONNELL CONTINUES TO SHOW VERSATILITY: Junior Drew O’Donnell has proved very valuable for the Cavaliers so far this season, starting three games at right back and twice as a flank midfielder. O’Donnell has played a big role for the UVa defense, with the Cavaliers surrendered only three goals in 400 minutes. He has also made offensive contributions with three assists. O’Donnell’s last assist came on the final goal of the Tech game with just 10 minutes remaining in the game. He beat his defender to the end line and sent in a crossing pass to Albright, who screened the Tech goalie and easily beat him with a half-volley. He also assisted on the last goal in the Maryland game when he played the ball to Steve Totten in the left side of the penalty box, before Totten passed to Chris Albright for the score. Over the course of his career, O’Donnell has now totaled 10 points on two goals and six assists.
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.
TWO CAVALIERS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: Senior defender Matt Chulis and sophomore forward Chris Albright have both been named to the Soccer America preseason All-America teams. Chulis, a first team selection, has earned second team All-America and first team All-ACC-honors each of the last two seasons. Albright, a second team selection, was named to the Soccer America National All-Freshman team and the All-ACC-Tournament team last season. Virginia was one of only four schools to have more than one player named to the squads.
THE HONOR ROLL: Since 1978, 19 UVa players have been named All-Americans, including 11 first-team selections. Five have left UVa as two-time All-Americans, three as three-time All-Americans and one (Jeff Agoos, 1986-90) as a four-time All-American. In addition, over the past 12 seasons UVa has produced 38 first-team all-ACC selections, 18 more than any other ACC school.
NINE CAVALIERS NAMED TO 1997-98 ACC ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL: The UVa men’s soccer team placed nine players on the 1997-98 Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Honor Roll. The list is comprised of all athletes in the conference who achieve a grade point average of 3.0 or better for the full academic year. Current players Matt Chulis, Mike Feller, Sam Franklin and Billy Petersen were all named to the Honor Roll, along with departed seniors Matt Laughlin, Matt Leonard, Yuri Sagatov, Andriy Shapowal and Joaquin Targhetta. Overall, Virginia had 240 student athletes named to the Honor Roll.
THE DYNASTY: Since 1989, UVa has won five NCAA titles (1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994), advanced to at least the NCAA semifinals seven times, and compiled an overall record of 176-25-21 (.840). From the beginning of the 1991 season until now, Virginia has lost just 17 games, going 143-17-13 (.864), including 96-8-6 (.900) against teams from outside the ACC. In the last eight years, UVa has won six ACC Championships and had five National Players of the Year.
VIRGINIA CLAIMS ACC TOURNAMENT AND REGULAR SEASON TITLES: The Cavaliers claimed the championship of last season’s ACC Tournament, marking the seventh time they have won the tournament. In the 11 year history of the ACC-Tournament, which began in 1987, Virginia remains the only school to win the title more than once. Overall, the Cavaliers have an all-time record of 17-4-3 in ACC-Tournament games, winning titles in 1988, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’94, ’95 and ’97. Virginia also tied for the 1997 ACC-regular season title with Duke and North Carolina State, posting a 3-1-2 (.667) mark in conference games. That marked the 13th time the Cavaliers won the ACC regular season-title, but the first time UVa has finished in a tie for first. The only school with more regular season ACC championships than Virginia is Maryland with 17, while Clemson has also won 13 titles. The Cavaliers previous ACC regular season titles came in 1969, ’70, ’83, ’84, ’86, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’91, ’92, ’95 and ’96.
THE ALL-AMERICAN TEAM: Once again last season, a number of Cavaliers were selected as All-Americans by the National Soccer Coaches Association of American (NSCAA). Three UVa players were selected to the teams, tying Virginia with Indiana for the most selections last year. Ben-Olsen earned first team All-America honors, Matt Chulis was a second team selection for the second year in a row, and Scott Vermillion earned third team honors. Virginia has now had at least two NSCAA All-America selections each of the last seven years, while having at least one first team choice for the 13 straight season.
CAVALIERS PLACE FOUR ON ALL-ACC TEAMS: Four Virginia players were named to the 1997 All-Atlantic Coast Conference teams, with all four being first team selections. Matt Chulis,-Ben Olsen and Scott Vermillion were all named to the first team for the second consecutive season, while Brian West earned All-ACC honors for the first time. Other than Virginia, the only other schools to place more than one player on the first team were Duke and Maryland with two each. Virginia has now had at least four players earn All-ACC honors for seven consecutive seasons.
SCOUTING THE DEACONS: Wake Forest stands at 4-1. The Deacons have only allowed five goals this season behind Sean Connor. In the only common opponent between Virginia and Wake Forest, both teams shut out Virginia Tech. Wake beat the Hokies 1-0 in the opener for both schools.
LAST OUTING – VIRGINIA TECH RECAP:
Virginia 3, Virginia Tech 0
September 16, 1998 – Tech Soccer Stadium
Virginia 1 2 - 3Virginia Tech 0 0 - 0
Scoring: UVa-Albright (Chulis) 42:35; UVa-Albright (Moore) 64:10; UVa-Albright (ODonnell) 80:03
Shots: UVa 11, VPI 11; Saves: UVa 6 (Forensich 6), VPI 2 (Salmin 2); Corner Kicks: UVa 3, VPI 4; Fouls: UVa 14, VPI 20; Offsides: UVa 2, VPI 6; Attendance: 533; Records: UVa 4-0-1, VPI- 1-4
Sophomore forward Chris Albright provided all the scoring as Virginia shutout Virginia Tech 3-0. The Cavaliers controlled play and maintained possession throughout most of the first half, but had difficulty solving the Tech defense. Albrights first goal, with just over two minutes to play in the first half, was a product of strong play in the defensive midfield. Sweeper Matt Chulis gained possession in his own end and served a ball over the top of the Tech defense to Albright, who had gotten behind the Hokie defenders. Albright chipped the ball just past goalie Alexey Salmin, who came well off his line to intercept the pass.
The Hokies picked up their offensive attack early in the second half and had several excellent opportunities to score. Tech forward Stanislav Licul and midfielder Ryan Cummins each had two shots apiece within 12 yards of the goal in a frantic 10-minute span shortly after halftime. But each time Cavalier goalkeeper Mike Forensich and the Virginia defense snuffed out the scoring chance. At one point in the second half, Tech out-shot the Cavaliers 7-0, but could not find the back of the net. Forensich recorded four saves in the second half and wasnt tested the last 20 minutes of the game. Albright tallied his second goal in the 65th minute to give Virginia some breathing room. Jason Moore sent a free kick deep into the box from 40 yards out, where Albright deftly headed the ball past a stunned Salmin. Albright completed his first career hat trick in the 81st minute. Drew ODonnell beat his defender to the end line deep in the right corner and sent a crossing pass to Albright at the far post. Albright trapped the ball and knocked in a right-footed half volley into the net. Albright screened Salmin from the pass and easily beat the Tech goalie for his sixth goal of the year.
Forensich recorded a season-high six saves in posting his first shutout as a Cavalier. Albrights hat trick is the first by a Cavalier since Matt Leonards vs. Liberty on October 1, 1997.
IN THE POLLS: Virginia is currently ranked No. 6 by Soccer America, No. 4 by the NSCAA and No. 2 by Soccer News. Since the beginning of the 1984 season, the Cavaliers have been the top-ranked team in 69 of 162 Soccer America polls and 55 of 154 NSCAA-polls (formerly the ISAA poll). Overall, Virginia has now been ranked in 166 consecutive NSCAA-polls dating back to September of 1983 and 163 consecutive Soccer America polls, since September of 1984. The Cavaliers were one of only nine teams to be ranked in every poll last season. Here is a look at where UVa has been ranked in each of the polls this year:
Soccer America NSCAA Soccer NewsPreseason No. 4 No. 2 No. 3September 7 No. 7 No. 4 No. 5September 14 No. 6 No. 4 No. 2
THE LAST MEETING:
Virginia 3, Wake Forest 1September 21, 1997 – Kloeckner Stadium
Wake Forest 0 1 - 1Virginia 0 3 - 3
Scoring: UVa-Albright (Green, Moore) 78:31; UVa-West (Olsen, Shapowal) 81:18; UVa-Albright (Trout, Olsen) 88:12; WFU-Stafford (Dotsenko) 88:27.
Shots: WFU-7, UVa 19; Saves: WFU 5 (Conner 5), UVa 1 (Yetso 1); Corner Kicks: WFU 4, UVa 4; Fouls: WFU 15, UVa 8; Offsides: WFU 2, UVa 6; Attendance: 1,752; Records: WFU 4-3-0, UVa 4-1-2.
Chris Albright scored a pair of goals and Ben Olsen added two assists as the eighth-ranked Cavaliers posted a 3-1 victory over Wake Forest at Kloeckner Stadium.
UVa scored all three of its goals in a 10 minute span late in the second half of the game. Albright opened the scoring at 78:31, knocking in a pass from Michael Green following a Jason Moore corner kick. Brian West added a goal less than three minutes later, after Olsen slid a pass to him in the penalty box. Albright scored his second goal at 88:12, connecting off a cross by Ryan Trout to put the Cavaliers up 3-0. Wake Forest avoided the shutout when Ben Stafford put home a pass from Ihor Dotsenko at 88:27.
VIRGINIA WHEN …
When scoring first 3-0-1When leading at halftime 3-0-0When trailing at halftime 0-0-0When tied at halftime 1-0-1When game goes into overtime 1-0-1When attempting more shots than opponent 3-0-1When attempting the same number of shots as opponent 1-0-0When attempting fewer shots than opponent 0-0-0When attempting more corner kicks than opponent 2-0-1When attempting fewer corner kicks than opponent 2-0-0vs. Patriot League 1-0-0vs. Mountain Pacific Sports Federation 0-0-1vs. West Coast Conference 1-0-0When wearing white jerseys 3-0-0When wearing blue jerseys 1-0-1vs. opponents ranked by Soccer America 1-0-0vs. opponents ranked by the NSCAA 1-0-0vs. opponents ranked by Soccer News 1-0-0
1998 ACC STANDINGS:
School ACC Pct. Overall Pct.Clemson 1-0-0 1.000 5-0-0 1.000Virginia 1-0-0 1.000 4-0-1 .900Duke 0-0-0 ---- 6-0-0 1.000Wake Forest 0-0-0 ---- 4-1-0 .800N.C. State 0-0-0 ---- 1-4-0 .200Maryland 0-1-0 .000 3-2-0 .600North Carolina 0-1-0 .000 2-2-0 .500
Through games of September 17