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Sept. 7, 2000
Virginia Cavaliers (2-0-0, 0-0-0 ACC)
Fila/Maryland Invitational
Ludwig Field
College Park, Md.
Sept. 8-10, 2000
LOOK ‘HOOS #1: Virginia has climbed back into the #1 spot in the land according to Soccer America’s Top 20 poll for the week of September 5th. The last time UVa was the number-one ranked team in the country was back on November 17th, 1996. The Cavaliers have been ranked #1 in 70 of the last 182 polls Soccer America polls.
Rank School Record Last Week1 VIRGINIA 2-0-0 32 UCLA 2-0-0 43 St. John's 2-0-0 NR4 Clemson 1-0-0 55 Portland 2-0-0 76 Connecticut 1-1-0 27 Wake Forest 1-1-0 138 Penn State 1-0-0 89 Furman 1-0-0 1010 Stanford 2-0-0 1211 Rhode Island 2-0-0 1112 Duke 0-2-0 113 Maryland 2-0-0 1414 St. Louis 1-0-0 1515 UAB 2-0-0 1716 S.W. Missouri State 2-0-0 NR17 UMBC 2-0-0 1818 Cal-State Fullerton 2-0-0 NR19 San Diego 2-0-0 NR20 Brown 0-0-0 19
TWO OF VIRGINIA’S FIVE NATIONAL TITLE S WEREVICTORIES OVER SOUTH CAROLINA & INDIANA: Two of Virginia’s five National Championships have been earned with victories over South Carolina (12/5/93) and Indiana (12/11/94). Here’s a look at UVa’s national championship victories:
12/3/89 Virginia tied Santa Clara 1-1 New Brunswick, N.J.12/8/91 Virginia tied Santa Clara 0-0 Tampa, Fla.12/6/92 Virginia def. San Diego 2-0 Davidson, N.C.12/5/93 Virginia def. South Carolina 2-0 Davidson, N.C12/11/94 Virginia def. Indiana 1-0 Davidson, N.C.
SERIES HISTORY WITH SOUTH CAROLINA & INDIANA: Virginia is 3-0-1 all-time verses the South Carolina Gamecocks. UVa has outscored USC 5-1 in their four meetings. The two teams met for the first time on November 26, 1989 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Charlottesville, Va. Virginia defeated South Carolina by the score of 1-0 in overtime en route to earning its first national championship. UVa also beat USC on December 5, 1993 to earn its fourth national championship. The Cavaliers and Gamecocks last met on November 29, 1998 in Charlottesville. Once again, UVa defeated USC by the score of 1-0 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Here’s a look at UVa’s series with USC:
11/26/89 Virginia def. South Carolina 1-0 Charlottesville, Va.9/2/90 Virginia tied South Carolina 1-1 Charlottesville, Va.12/5/93 Virginia def. South Carolina 2-0 Davidson, N.C.11/29/98 Virginia def. South Carolina 1-0 Charlottesville, Va.
Virginia is 2-3-1 all time against the Indiana Hoosiers. UVa and IU met for the first time on September 8, 1984 in Bloomington, Indiana. IU defeated UVa by the score of 1-0 in that contest. However, the last time these two teams met, it was on December 11, 1994 in Davidson, N.C. in the 1994 National Championship. Virginia beat Indiana 1-0 to earn its fifth national title. Here’s a look at UVa’s series with IU:
9/8/84 Indiana def. Virginia 1-0 Bloomington, Ind.9/6/86 Virginia tied Indiana 1-1 Bloomington, Ind.9/2/89 Virginia def. Indiana 1-0 Bloomington, Ind.9/8/90 Indiana def. Virginia 2-1 Bloomington, Ind.12/11/94 Virginia def. Indiana 1-0 Davidson, N.C.
ALECKO ESKANDARIAN NAMED ACC POW: By scoring three goals and recording one assist in victories over South Florida and Jacksonville, Alecko Eskandarian was named the ACC Player of the Week. The first-year forward only played 83 minutes through two contest – coming off the bench in both games – but scored seven points in doing so. Eskandarian scored one goal in his UVa debut against South Florida (9/1) and posted two goals and an assist verses Jacksonville en route to leading UVa to the tournament title and being named to the Virginia Soccer Classic All-Tournament team.
VIRGINIA’S ARENA, COLE, ESKANDARIAN & LeBLANC RECORD FIRST COLLEGIATE GOALS IN VIRGINIA SOCCER CLASSIC: UVa’s Kenny Arena, Jonathan Cole, Alecko Eskandarian and Jacob LeBlanc each recorded their first collegiate goal during the Virginia Soccer Classic. Eskandarian scored his first collegiate goal in UVa’s 3-2 victory over South Florida (Sept. 1), while Arena, Cole and LeBlanc posted their first collegiate goals in Virginia’s 7-1 rout of Jacksonville (Sept. 3rd).
KYLE MARTINO NAMED VIRGINIA SOCCER CLASSIC MVP: Kyle Martino was named the Virginia Soccer Classic MVP after he scored one goal and notched two assists en route to guiding UVa to a 2-0 record and the tournament title after defeated South Florida (3-2) and Jacksonville (7-1). Martino scored Virginia’s game-winning goal against Jacksonville and assisted on two goals scored by Alecko Eskandarian in the tournament.
FOUR CAVALIERS NAMED TO THE VIRGINIA SOCCER CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Alecko Eskandarian, Kyle Martino, Chad Prince and Ryan Trout were named to the 2000 Virginia Soccer Classic All-Tournament Team. The four players help guide UVa to a 2-0 record in the tournament with a 3-2 victory over South Florida and a 7-1 victory over Jacksonville. Martino was named the tournament’s MVP.
2000 Virginia Soccer Classic Tournament Results
Game 1 Maryland def. Jacksonville 4-1Game 2 Virginia def. South Florida 3-2Game 3 Maryland def. South Florida 3-0Game 4 Virginia def. Jacksonville 7-1
2000 Virginia Soccer Classic Tournament Standings
1st Virginia 2-02nd Maryland 2-03rd South Florida 0-24th Jacksonville 0-2
2000 Virginia Soccer Classic All-Tournament Team
Kyle Martino VirginiaRyan Trout VirginiaAlecko Eskandarian VirginiaChad Prince VirginiaNick Downing MarylandRob Birch MarylandScott Buete MarylandTroy Perkins South FloridaJonathan Alva-Cavero South FloridaBrett Surrency JacksonvilleScot Shewey Jacksonville
MVP – Kyle Martino – Virginia
UVA RECORDS ITS FIRST VIRGINIA SOCCER CLASSIC TOURNAMENT TITLE SINCE 1997: With it’s 3-2 victory over South Florida and a 7-1 decision over Jacksonville, UVa claimed its first Virginia Soccer Classic title since 1997, when the Cavaliers topped Akron 5-1 and tied Florida International 1-1. UVa has won 11 of the 16 tournaments it has hosted.
CAVALIERS DO NOT PLAY A REGULAR SEASON NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENT ON THE ROAD IN 2000 SEASON: The University of Virginia men’s soccer team will not play a single non-conference road game for the entire 2000 regular season. That’s right, not one. UVa will only play three regular season road game’s all season, but those games are all ACC opponents: Wake Forest (9/16), North Carolina (9/24) and Clemson (10/15). Virginia’s regular season non-conference games with South Carolina and Indiana will be played on a neutral site (College Park, Md.), and its match with William & Mary will also be played on a neutral site at the Sportsplex in Virginia Beach, Va.
GEORGE GELNOVATCH APPROACHES 100TH GAME: With 97 games under his belt as Virginia’s head soccer coach, George Gelnovatch will coach in his 100th game on Wednesday, September 13th when Virginia hosts Northeastern. Gelnovatch is 67-20-10 (.742) as UVa’s head coach.
VIRGINIA GOES 0-0-2 IN PRE-SEASON EXHIBITION GAMES: The University of Virginia men’s soccer team faced the Georgetown Hoyas in its first exhibition game of the pre-season at the University of Maryland’s Ludwig Field. The two teams played to a scoreless tie in the opening game of the preseason tournament. The Maryland Terrapins, the host of the tournament, defeated the St. John’s Red Storm by the score of 1-0 in the nightcap.
Virginia had an opportunity to take a 1-0 lead in the first half when forward Sheldon Barnes (Miramar, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) just missed with a header off the crossbar. The Cavaliers outshot the Hoyas 21-5 in the contest.UVa goalkeepers Kyle Singer (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale) and David Comfort (Richmond, Va./Monacan) each played a half in goal for the Cavaliers.
On Saturday (Aug 26th), Virginia concluded its pre-season schedule with a 1-1 tie against the No. 15 St. John’s Red Storm. Steve Totten (Allentown, N.J./Peddie) scored the Cavaliers lone goal (unassisted) in the 54th minute of the match to give UVa a 1-0 lead. The Red Storm answered right back with a goal of their own in the 81st minute to knot the score at 1-1. The game ended in a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation as the exhibition tournament did not have an overtime session.
With the tie, Virginia finished the pre-season portion of it’s schedule with a 0-0-2 record. UVa will now prepare for its season opener against the South Florida Bulls in the first game of the Virginia Soccer Classic, scheduled to begin on Friday, September 1st. The game is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. and will be played at Kl?ckner Stadium.
KYLE MARTINO NAMED SECOND TEAM PRE-SEASON ALL-AMERICAN by SOCCER AMERICA: University of Virginia men’s soccer player Kyle Martino (Westport, Conn./Staples) was named to Soccer America’s Second Team Pre-Season All-America list. Martino was one of six players from the Atlantic Coast Conference named to Soccer America’s first or second team.
Martino, 5-9 central-midfielder, is in his second season at Virginia and has opened a lot of eyes with his style of play. A natural playmaker, Martino has the ability to dazzle with his footwork. He possesses a great combination of speed, footwork and deceptive moves with nice blend of technique, skills and movement. Martino entered the 1999 season as one of the top incoming first-year players in the country. He made a significant impact on the team as a first-year starter and was eventually named the 1999 ACC Rookie-of-the Year. Martino was also tabbed a First-Team All-ACC selection and was chosen to the ACC All-Tournament team.
He played his way into a starting role from the beginning of the ’99 season and gathered 1436 minutes of action during the regular season and logged 1971 minutes through the NCAA Tournament. Martino started all 23 games he appeared in and was second on the team with seven assists, including two game-winning assists in victories over Cal State Fullerton (10/29/99) and Ohio State (11/5/99). He finished third on the squad with 21 points resulting from seven assists and seven goals. Three of Martino’s seven goals were game-winning markers scored in the Cavaliers 2-1 victory over North Carolina (9/25/99), a 3-0 decision over Marshall (10/20/99) and a 3-1 victory over Brown (11/28/99) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He also scored the first postseason points of his career when he tallied a goal after heading a crossing pass from teammate Ryan Gibbs in Virginia’s 2-1 triple-overtime victory over Princeton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Other highlights from Martino’s 1999 season included recording UVa’s only goal in a 2-1 triple-overtime loss to Duke in the ACC Championship game (11/14/99). He posted his first collegiate goal in a 2-1 win over Virginia Tech (9/22/99) and tallied his first collegiate assist in UVa’s 1-1 tie with Wake Forest. Martino recorded four assists in UVa’s last five regular season games and scored a goal in three consecutive games against Duke (11/14/99) in the ACC Championship game, Princeton (11/21/99) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and Brown (11/28/99) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He either scored a goal or had an assist in eight games during the regular season.
Prior to UVa, Martino was a four-year letterwinner at Staples High School and was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year and Parade All-American his senior year. He was the NSCAA Connecticut State Player of the Year, the Connecticut Post Athlete of the Year and the Connecticut Junior Soccer Association Player of the Year. Martino was also named an all-state and all-county selection.Soccer America’s Pre-Season All-Americans
First TeamPosition Name School YearGoalkeeper Adam Zapala Stanford Sr.Defender Chris Gbandi Connecticut Jr.Defender Cory Gibbs Brown Sr.Defender Lee Morrison Stanford Jr.Midfielder Matt Goldsmith Furman Jr.Midfielder Mark Lisi Clemson Sr.Midfielder Brent Rahim Connecticut Sr.Forward Conor Casey Portland Soph.Forward Ali Curtis Duke Sr.Forward John Berry Nusum Furman Jr.Forward Ricardo Villar Penn State Sr.
Second TeamPosition Name School YearGoalkeeper T.J. Hannig Indiana Sr.Defender Nii-Amar Amamoo Duke Sr.Defender Nick Downing Maryland Jr.Defender Oguchi Onyewu Clemson Fr.Midfielder Carl Bussey SMU Jr.Midfielder Anthony Curtis Rhose Island Soph.Midfielder KYLE MARTINO VIRGINIA Soph.Forward Giuliano Celenza UMBC Sr.Forward Mohamed Fahim SMU Soph.Forward Winston Griffiths Rhode Island Sr.Forward Flavio Monteiro UAB Soph.
LEONARD, PRINCE & TOTTEN NAMED TRI-CAPTAINS: As voted upon by the players on the University of Virginia men’s soccer team, Marshall Leonard (Midland, Ga./Shaw), Chad Prince (Woodbury, N.Y./Syosset) and Steve Totten (Allentown, N.J./Peddie) were selected tri-captains for the 2000 UVa squad.
UVA ENTERS 2000 SEASON WITH LOFTY EXPECTATIONS: The University of Virginia men’s soccer team has won five national championships in the last 11 seasons. However, it has been nearly six years since Virginia won its last title after posting a 1-0 victory over Indiana on December 11, 1994. With 10 starters returning from last year’s NCAA Quarterfinal squad, hopes are running as high as ever in Charlottesville for the start of the 2000 season.
Virginia began its quest for a sixth national championship by defeating the South Florida Bulls 3-2 (Sept. 1st) and the Jacksonville Dolphins 7-1 (Sept. 3rd) in the Virginia Soccer Classic Tournament at Kl?ckner Stadium.
MARTINO & TROUT SELECTED AS HERMANN TROPHY FINALISTS: University of Virginia players Kyle Martino and Ryan Trout were two of 15 players selected as finalists for the Hermann Trophy, which is presented to the best player in college soccer.
Martino was named the 1999 ACC Rookie of the Year and was a First Team All-ACC selection in ’99. He was spectacular in his first season as a Cavalier. The native from Westport, Conn. started all 23 games he participated in and finished third on the team with 21 points on seven goals and seven assists (second on the squad). Martino displayed dazzling ball handling skills and was a dual-threat to either set up a score or score himself. He was instrumental to UVa’s success late in the season after he recorded three goals in the Cavaliers final four contests, including markers in Virginia’s 2-1 win over Princeton and 3-1 victory over Brown in the NCAA Tournament. Martino scored goals in back-to-back games four times last season.
Trout, a senior from Media, Pa., enters 2000 as Virginia’s top returning player in points, goals and assists. He led the Cavaliers in all three categories last season after recording 28 points on 10 assists and nine goals. His prolific attack earned him NSCAA Third Team All-American honors en route to being tabbed a Second Team All-ACC selection. Trout became the 44th Cavalier to post a hat trick and only the eighth player ever at Virginia to score four goals in a single game when he did so in an 8-1 rout over Appalachian State (9/8/99). He elevated his game and overshadowed his competition in the ACC Tournament by scoring three goals (two game-winners) in Virginia’s 2-0 win over Maryland and 2-1 victory over Wake Forest. Trout scored both of UVa’s goals in the WFU contest.
2000 Hermann Trophy Finalists:
Name SchoolCarl Bussey SMUConor Casey PortlandAli Curtis DukeNick Downing MarylandMohammed Fahim SMUChris Gbandi UCONNCory Gibbs BrownT.J. Hannig IndianaRyan Mack IndianaKyle Martino VirginiaLee Morrison StanfordBrent Rahim UCONNMcKinley Tennyson UCLARyan Trout VirginiaRicardo Villar Penn State
VIRGINIA PICKED SECOND IN ACC PRE-SEASON POLL: The UVa men’s soccer team was picked to finish second in the upcoming 2000 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) men’s soccer season, as determined by a vote of the leagues seven head coaches. Duke, the 1999 ACC Tournament Champion, was chosen as the favorite to win the league for the 2000 season.
The Blue Devils finished the ’99 season with a 16-1-3 record overall and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season. Duke gathered 45 points in the pre-season balloting and narrowly edge Virginia, who was picked to finish in second place after recording 38 points in the poll. The Cavaliers are coming off a NCAA Quarterfinal appearance after finishing the 1999 season with an overall record of 14-9-1. UVa returns 10 starters from last year’s squad and enters the 2000 season ranked #10 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) pre-season poll.
Clemson (9-8-2 in ’99) was picked to finish third after tallying 31 points and was followed by fourth place North Carolina (12-7-1 in ’99) with 27 points.
Rounding out the pre-season poll in fifth place is Wake Forest (25 points), Maryland (22 points) and N.C. State (8 points).
The ACC has been considered one of the top soccer conferences in the nation. ACC schools have won eight of last 16 national championships. This year, the ACC enters the 2000 season with five teams listed in the 2000 NSCAA pre-season rankings: Duke at #7, Virginia at #10, Wake Forest at #11, Maryland at #16 and North Carolina at #24.
Last year, the Cavaliers were picked to finish third in the ACC pre-season poll and were ranked sixth in the NSCAA pre-season rankings. Here is a look at the complete 2000 ACC Pre-Season Coaches Poll:
2000 Pre-Season ACC Men’s Soccer Poll
Rank School Points 1999 Overall Record/ACC Record & Finish
1. Duke 45 16-1-3, 4-0-2 ACC/1st2. VIRGINIA 38 14-9-1, 1-4-1 ACC/T6th3. Clemson 31 9-8-2, 2-2-2 ACC/4th4. North Carolina 27 12-7-1, 2-3-1 ACC/5th5. Wake Forest 25 13-3-5, 2-1-3 ACC/3rd6. Maryland 22 14-6-0, 4-2-0 ACC/2nd7. N.C. State 8 7-7-3, 1-4-1 ACC/T6th
‘HOOS RANKED IN THE PRESEASON POLLS?: Virginia enters the 2000 season ranked #3 by Soccer America and #10 in the country according to the National Soccer Coaches of America (NSCAA) Top 25 poll. Prior to last season, UVa had been a fixture in the Top 25 polls. Virginia had a streak of 177 consecutive polls in the Soccer America poll snapped when it did not appear in the 10/4/99 poll and fell out of the NSCAA Top 25 on 10/25/99, breaking a streak of 182 consecutive appearances in the poll dating back to September of 1983.
HOME OPENERS: With it’s 3-2 victory over South Florida (9/1/00), the Cavaliers improved to 40-14-3 (.728) in home openers dating back to the start of the 1941 season. However, over the past 32 years, Virginia has been nearly unbeatable in home openers. The Cavaliers have posted a record of 28-2-2 (.906) during that span, including six consecutive victories. The last time Virginia was defeated in a home opener was on September 3, 1994 when Boston University handed the Cavaliers a 3-2 defeat. Although UVa began that season with a loss, Virginia didn’t miss a beat and closed out the season with their fifth National Championship.
HOME SWEET HOME: Virginia has enjoy much success playing in the friendly confines of Kl?ckner Stadium. One of the finest college soccer facilities in the country, Kl?ckner Stadium has been a very tough place for opponents to record a win. In fact, UVa has posted an eye-opening record of 104-13-5 (.873) at Kl?ckner Stadium since its opening in 1992. The Cavaliers went 10-4-1 at home last year, just the third time in five years UVa did not finish undefeated at home. Virginia is 18-3 (.857) in NCAA Tournament games held at Kl?ckner Stadium during the past eight seasons, outscoring the opposition 52-17 in those games.
VIRGINIA CLASSIC TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The beginning of the 2000 season marked the 16th consecutive year the Cavaliers have hosted the Virginia Soccer Classic. Virginia stands 25-3-4 (.844) all-time in the tournament. Here is a year-by-year look at UVa’s results:
1985 West Virginia W 3-0 (1-0-0) George Washington W 4-1 (2-0-0)1986 Richmond W 3-0 (3-0-0) Cornell W 2-0 (4-0-0)1987 Wake Forest W 3-0 (5-0-0) Adelphi W 1-0 (6-0-0)1988 Illinois State W 2-0 (7-0-0) William & Mary W 1-0 (8-0-0)1989 UNC-Charlotte W 2-0 (9-0-0) Charleston W 6-0 (10-0-0)1990 Army W 4-0 (11-0-0) South Carolina T 1-1 (11-0-1)1991 Creighton T 3-3 (11-0-2) Rutgers W 2-1 (12-0-2)1992 Penn State W 4-0 (13-0-2) Seton Hall W 4-1 (14-0-2)1993 Florida International W 3-1 (15-0-2) Connecticut W 5-1 (16-0-2)1994 Boston University L 2-3 (16-1-2) St. John's W 2-0 (17-1-2)1995 UNLV W 3-0 (18-1-2) Boston College W 3-2 (19-1-2)1996 Cal-State Fullerton T 2-2 (19-1-3) Saint Louis W 2-1 (20-1-3)1997 Akron W 5-1 (21-1-3) Florida International T 1-1 (21-1-4)1998 American L 1-2 (21-2-4) Adelphi W 3-0 (22-2-4)1999 Seton Hall W 4-3 (23-2-4) Gonzaga L 2-3 (23-3-4)2000 South Florida W 3-2 (24-3-4) Jacksonville W 7-1 (25-3-4)
Here’s a game-by-game look back at the box scores of Virginia’s 2000 soccer season:
No. 3 Virginia 7, Jacksonville 1
September 3, 2000Charlottesville, Va.Game 2
Scoring 1 2 FinalJacksonville 0 1 2Virginia 5 2 7
Goals: UVa 7 – Arena @ 1:08 (Trout), Martino @ 27:50 (Totten), Eskandarian @ 29:56 (Martino), Eskandarian @ 32:10 (Barnes), LeBlanc @ 39:53 (Totten, Eskandarian), Bush @ 52:20, Cole @ 59:04 (Solomon). JU 1- Dikic @ 76:21 (Decker).Shots: UVa 27, JU 4.Saves: JU 8 (Simpson 6, Miller 2), UVa 3 (Cupello 2, Singer 1).Corner Kicks: UVa 6, JU 1.Fouls: UVa 9, JU 7.Offsides: UVa 9, JU 0.Cautions: JU 2 – Dikic, Lloyd. UVa 0.Attendance: 463.
No. 3 Virginia 3, South Florida 1
September 1, 2000Charlottesville, Va.Game 1
Scoring 1 2 FinalSouth Florida 1 1 2Virginia 3 0 3
Goals: UVa 3 – Eskandarian (Martino) @ 34:29, Barnes @ 41:14, Trout @ 42:36. USF 2 – Cowherd (Thwaites) @ 28:57, Krauss (Thwaites) @ 68:53.Shots: UVa 15, USF 12.Saves: USF 6, UVa 5.Corner Kicks: UVa 13, USF 4.Fouls: UVa 24, USF 17.Offsides: UVa 6, USF 0.Cautions: USF 3 – Cowherd, Thwaites, Scrivens. UVa 2 – Arena, Totten.Attendance: 1,328.