2001 Virginia Men's Soccer Preview

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As the Virginia men’s soccer team prepares for the upcoming 2001 season, the question isn’t whether or not UVa has what it takes to win a national championship this year. The Cavaliers are loaded with experience, depth, speed, talent and physical toughness. The question facing UVa is will the Cavaliers put all those pieces together to win a sixth National Championship?

Virginia rolled through the 2000 season and finished the year with a record of 17-6-1 overall, 5-1-0 in the ACC. However, UVa’s national title hopes were stopped short in the NCAA Quarterfinals for the third consecutive year. But head coach George Gelnovatch (82-26-11 through five years at Virginia) thinks this year’s team has what it takes to move beyond that point, leading him to believe that this year’s squad has as good of a chance as any team he has coached at UVa to win the national title.

As is the case for any team in the country, the road to winning a national title won’t be an easy one. But the Cavaliers appear to have what it’s going to take to get there. With nine starters returning, a talented class of first-year players ready to contribute and a desire to end the season with a title, the Cavaliers may have that sixth national championship in their sights.

FORWARDS

Up front, Virginia returns a group that features some of the nation’s best forwards in the trio of Alecko Eskandarian, Ryan Gibbs and Sheldon Barnes. Eskandarian (38 points, 16 goals, 6 assists), Gibbs (29 points, 12 goals, 5 assists) and Barnes (17 points, 6 goals, 5 assists) accounted for over half ( 34 of 62) of the Cavaliers’ goals in 2000. The triple threat was lethal to opposing defenses and fueled an offensive surge that paced UVa to outscore its opponents, 62-29.

After facing a situation that Gelnovatch termed “having too many attacking players” last season, he feels Virginia now has a solid balance in the attack after establishing some new roles for his players.

Eskandarian, a proven goal scorer, gathered numerous awards en route to putting the finishing touches on one of the most successful first-year campaigns at Virginia for a first-year player.Although he played more like a senior, he ran away with various honors such as: ACC Rookie of the Year and First Team All-ACC, as well as National Freshman of the Year and Third Team All-American honors by Soccer America just to name a few.

On November 19, 2000 in UVa’s 5-0 victory over Lehigh in the NCAA Tournament, Eskandarian scored his 16th goal of the season to became Virginia’s all-time leader in points scored by a freshman with 38. His goal also tied him for the freshman record of 16 goals scored in a single season at UVa. Eskandarian also had four game-winning goals and a team-high three game-winning assists. Look for another high scoring season out of this electrifying forward.

Gibbs and Barnes, an extremely athletic duo, turned in an outstanding season as well. Gibbs was named to the ACC All-Tournament team and was an Honorable Mention All-American pick by Soccer America. He finished second on the team in goals scored and assists and posted a team-high five game-winning goals to go along with one game-winning assist. Barnes was fourth on the squad in scoring and recorded Virginia’s only hat-trick of the season when he lit up Northeastern for three goals in UVa’s 4-1 victory. He became the 45th player to accomplish the feat in Virginia men’s soccer history.

Gibbs and Barnes are extremely quick and have a good touch on the ball. They both give Virginia some versatility on the front line to compliment Eskandarian’s presence. The Cavaliers find themselves with several combinations to fill the forward positions, with a starting caliber player waiting in the wings to step in as a top reserve. Also look for fourth-year returner Rob Wright (three career goals, one career assist) and first-year player Chris Megaloudis to challenge for playing time as well.

MIDFIELDERS

In what may shape up to be Virginia’s most competitive position among returning players, UVa returns its entire four-man midfield core of Kyle Martino, Steve Totten, Kenny Arena and Ryan Kelly. Each player in this group displays a unique style of play that meshes together to form one of the most talented midfield groups in the country. The midfield position is loaded with talent and may be Virginia’s deepest position.

Martino is the catalyst behind the Virginia attack. With his instinctive playmaking ability and consistency, he’s the energizer in getting things started for. Martino is coming off a terrific sophomore season that saw him gather Second Team All-American honors from Soccer America, as well as being named First Team All-ACC and to the ACC All-Tournament. He was also one of 15 finalists for the Hermann Trophy. Martino tallied 14 points resulting from four goals and a team-high six assists.

Totten, a fourth-year, defines the term consistency. His no-frills style of play led him to Second Team All-ACC honors as he finished the season with 21 points coming from eight goals and five assists. His point and goal totals were good enough for third on the team.

Arena, a third-year, provides Virginia with a physical force in the middle. He has developed into a great ball-winner and is not afraid to throw his body around to gain possession. Arena also increased his role offensively and netted three goals and added an assist for a total of seven points last season. He scored the game-winning goal in UVa’s 3-2 win against Clemson.

Kelly, a second-year, is the youngest player of the returning midfielders. After splitting time last season as a forward and midfielder, he blossomed into his role as a middie after moving into the position as a full-time starter. Kelly also has a knack for scoring, and posted four goals including the game-winner against Lehigh in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Virginia also returns Jacob LeBlanc, Curtis Bush, Eric Solomon and Sean Feeney. LeBlanc, a second-year, made five starts and scored four points on two assists and a goal in his first season. Bush, a fourth-year, also started five games and posted a goal and a game-winning assist. Solomon, an experienced third-year, finished tied for first with Martino with a team-high six assists to go along with a goal. Solomon’s playmaking skills led him to three assists in UVa’s victory over Northeastern. Feeney, also a third-year, made strides in the spring and was voted the teams most improved player. Watch for him to challenge for more playing time this season.

Keep an eye on first-year players Kirk Dinnal and Zane Hill. Although the midfield position is oozing with depth and talent, either one of these two players could challenge for playing time.

DEFENDERS

The Cavaliers lost only two starters from last year’s team, but both players were defenders. However, don’t expect a drop off in talent, because the Cavaliers’ cupboard is far from being bare. In fact, UVa’s backfield may be even better than last season’s squad that had a part in yielding only 29 goals.

While graduates Mike Feller and Chad Prince have since moved on, Virginia welcomes the return of Jonathan Cole and Marshall Leonard.

Cole, a third-year, is coming off a season where he was named to the ACC All-Tournament team. He and Leonard started all 24 contests together, and the two outside backs recorded 17 points between them. Cole notched 10 points on four assists and three goals, (including two game-winning assists) and he scored Virginia’s game-winning goal against Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals. Leonard chipped in with seven points resulting from five assists and one goal. Two of his assists were game-winners.

Cole provides a physical presence and is a solid man-marker in the backfield, while Leonard provides the speed, ball-striking and ball-handling for the squad. Leonard also has the flexibility to play in the midfield where he scored his first collegiate goal in UVa’s win over N.C. State. Look for Cole to nail down a center back spot and Leonard to solidify an outside back position.

Matt Oliver, a highly-touted recruit who sat out the 2000 season due to an injury, is slated to be Virginia’s other starting center back when the 2001 season begins. Syracuse transfer Chris Fehrle, who had an impressive two-year stint with the Orangemen, will challenge for one of the center back positions.

Third-year Carter Burgess looks to rebound from a leg injury that forced him to miss all of last season, while fourth-year Matt Beran looks to expand his role. Newcomers John Hartman and Jeff Tuman could also make a run at the defender positions. The talented duo of Hartman and Tuman joined Dinnal on the U.S. U-18 National Team and will look to put that experience to use at Virginia as they challenge for playing time in the backfield.

GOALKEEPERS

Following the pattern of the previous two seasons, the goalkeeping duties will once again be battled out between David Comfort and Kyle Singer. While each keeper has his own particular strengths, the two warriors have proven that Virginia can’t go wrong regardless of who is standing between the pipes.

Comfort, a third-year, has started 22 games in goal for the Cavaliers. He started Virginia’s last nine games of the 2000 season including three ACC and three NCAA contests. Comfort posted an eye-opening 0.97 GAA last season and has a career GAA of 1.00. His seven career shutouts and 82 career saves are eighth and ninth all-time at UVa, respectively.

Singer, a fourth-year, has started 26 of the 27 games he has appeared in. He has split the starting goalkeeper duties with Comfort each of the past two seasons. Singer had a 1.33 GAA in 2000 and has a 1.27 GAA for his career. His six career shutouts is the 11th best total in Virginia history.

Brett Mayer-Aschhoff, a second-year, looks to add depth at an already fiercely competitive position.