Virginia Men's Soccer Set To Face VCU

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Oct. 5, 2001

Virginia Cavaliers (8-0-1, 3-0-0 ACC)vs. VCU Rams (4-3-1, 0-0-0 CAA)Sports Backers StadiumRichmond, Va.

CURRENT RANKING: The University of Virginia men’s soccer team isranked #2 in the Soccer America Top 20 Poll and #4 in theNSCAA/adidas Poll. Virginia was also picked to finish secondin the ACC in the 2001 ACC Coaches Preseason Poll.

2001 VIRGINIA CAVALIER LEADERS:

POINTS:Kyle Martino		13Alecko Eskandarian	10Ryan Gibbs		9Jonathan Cole		5Jacob LeBlanc		5Kenny Arena		4Marshall Leonard	3Chris Megaloudis	2Sean Feeney		2Steve Totten		1Eric Solomon 		1Sheldon Barnes		1

GOALS:Alecko Eskandarian 5Ryan Gibbs 4Kyle Martino 3Jonathan Cole 2Jacob LeBlanc 1Kenny Arena 1Chris Megaloudis 1Sean Feeney 1

ASSISTS:Kyle Martino 7Jacob LeBlanc 3Marshall Leonard 3Kenny Arena 2Steve Totten 1Sheldon Barnes 1Eric Solomon 1Jonathan Cole 1Ryan Gibbs 1

GELNOVATCH CLOSING IN ON 100 CAREER WINS: UVa men’s soccer headsoccer coach George Gelnovatch is closing in on 100 career headcoaching victories. With Virginia’s 4-0 victory over Temple (10/2),Gelnovatch has now recorded 90 wins as a head coach at UVa with acareer record of 90-26-12.

HOME SWEET HOME: Virginia has enjoyed much success playing in thefriendly confines of Kl?ckner Stadium. One of the finest collegesoccer facilities in the country, Kl?ckner Stadium has been a verytough place for opponents to record a win. Since its opening in 1992,UVa has posted an eye-opening record of 119-15-7 (.869) at Kl?cknerStadium. The Cavaliers finished 12-2-1 at home last season.Virginia is 20-4 (.833) in NCAA Tournament games held at Kl?cknerStadium during the past eight seasons, outscoring its opposition59-21 in those games.

SERIES HISTORY WITH VCU: The Virginia Cavaliers have owned theseries history with the Virginia Commonwealth Rams in men’s soccer.UVa leads the all-time series history 17-0-1 (.972). The Cavaliershave outscored the Rams 86-7 through 18 contests in the series.In the first ever meeting between the two squads, Virginia defeatedVCU (RPI) by the score of 6-0 on November 20, 1948 in Richmond, Va.The Cavaliers would go on to win 16 of the next 17 matches playedincluding a 1-0 overtime victory last year on September 20, 2000in Charlottesville, Va. The only tie in the series happened onSeptember 17, 1981 when the teams knotted at 1-1 in Charlottesville, Va.

FEENEY & MEGALOUDIS SCORE FIRST COLLEGIATE GOALS IN WIN OVER TEMPLE: UVa’sSean Feeney and Chris Megaloudis scored their first collegiate goals inVirginia’s 4-0 shutout victory over Temple (10/2). Feeney, a third-year,chipped in a shot from four yards out after a cross and Megaloudis,a first-year, scored on a diving header on a cross to give the Cavaliers’their second and fourth goals of the game, respectively.

COLE & LEBLANC = GAME-WINNING CONNECTION: The duo of Jonathan Cole andJacob LeBlanc came up huge in Virginia’s 2-0 victory over N.C. State(9/30) and in its 4-0 win over Temple (10/2). In both contests, theCavaliers first (game-winning) goal was scored on a corner kick fromLeBlanc that resulted in a header for a goal by Cole.

ESKANDARIAN & BARNES ARE BACK: Virginia’s 4-0 victory over Temple onOctober 2nd marked the return of the Cavaliers original starting frontline of forwards, Sheldon Barnes and Alecko Eskandarian, into game action.Barnes had been sidelined since UVa’s second game of the season (six games)and Eskandarian had missed Virginia’s last three contests due to injuries.Though both players came off the bench and played only a combined 48 minutes(Barnes 28 minutes, Eskandarian 20 minutes), the duo should figure their wayback into Virginia’s starting lineup.

VIRGINIA IN THE POLLS:

SOCCER AMERICA TOP 20Rank	Team			Record1.	SMU			7-0-02.	VIRGINIA		7-0-13. 	Furman			7-0-04.	Saint Louis		6-0-05.	St. John's		5-0-16.	Washington		6-1-07.	Indiana			5-2-08.	South Florida		8-0-09.	Stanford		6-0-010.	San Diego		6-1-011.	North Carolina		6-2-012.	Penn State		5-2-013.	South Carolina		6-1-014.	Clemson			6-2-015.	Connecticut		5-2-216.	Loyola Marymount	6-3-017.	Rutgers			4-1-218.	Ohio State		6-1-119.	Cal State Fullerton	3-2-120.	Loyola (Md.)		6-1-1as of 10/1/01

NSCAA TOP 25

Rank	School			Record1.	SMU			7-0-02.	Stanford		6-0-03.	St. John's		5-0-14.	VIRGINIA		7-0-15.	Saint Louis		6-0-06.	Indiana			5-2-07.	Washington		6-1-08.	UAB			6-1-09.	South Florida		8-0-010.	Rutgers			4-1-211.	San Diego		6-1-012.	North Carolina		6-2-013.	Loyola (Md.)		6-1-114.	Fairfield		4-1-115.	Ohio State		6-1-116.	Furman			7-0-017.	South Carolina		6-1-018.	Seton Hall		5-1-119.	Penn State		5-2-020.	Connecticut		5-2-221.	William & Mary		5-3-122.	Columbia		2-1-223.	Marshall		8-1-024t.	Boston College		5-2-024t.	Clemson			6-2-0Also receiving votes: Cal State Fullerton, Denver.as of 10/1/01

UVA WINS ITS FIRST ROAD GAME OF THE 2001 SEASON AT N.C. STATE: With its2-0 shutout victory over N.C. State on September 30th, Virginia won andplayed in its first road game of the 2001 season. In fact, it was theCavaliers first true road match in a span of 350 consecutive days.Prior to the NCSU contest, UVa played in two games away from Kl?cknerStadium on September 7th (American) and 9th (Creighton) this year,but both games were played on a neutral site at Ludwig Field on thecampus of the University of Maryland in College Park, Md. Virginia’slast road game was 11-and-a-half months before the N.C. State matchback on October 15, 2000 when UVa defeated Clemson 3-2 at Riggs Fieldin Clemson, South Carolina.

CAVALIERS RECORD FIFTH CONSECUTIVE SHUTOUT:With it’s 4-0 shutout victoryover Temple, Virginia extended it’s streak of consecutive games won byshutout to five. Prior to its shutout over Temple, UVa shutout: N.C. State(2-0 on 10/30), William & Mary (1-0 on 9/26), North Carolina (2-0 on 9/22)and Wake Forest (1-0 on 9/17). The record for the most consecutive winsby shutout by the Virginia men’s soccer team in a single season is ten,set by the 1987 squad.

UVA RECORDS THREE CONSECUTIVE SHUTOUTS OVER ACC OPPONENTS: With its 2-0victory over N.C. State (9/30), 2-0 win over North Carolina (9/22) and1-0 victory over Wake Forest (9/17), Virginia has recorded threeconsecutive shutouts over its ACC opponents for the first time thisseason. The last time the Cavaliers posted consecutive shutouts overtheir ACC opponents was on November 3rd, 9th and November 10th whenVirginia defeated Maryland (2-0) N.C. State (1-0) and Duke (3-0),respectively.

CAVALIERS EARN FIRST ACC WIN & SHUTOUT OF 2001 SEASON: With its 1-0shutout victory over Wake Forest on November 17th, Virginia recordedits first win in the Atlantic Coast Conference and posted it firstshutout victory of the 2001 season. UVa also increased its all-timelead in the series history with Wake Forest to 22-2-4.

VIRGINIA CHANGES GAME DATE WITH MARYLAND: University of Virginia men’ssoccer head coach George Gelnovatch announced a change in the 2001Virginia men’s soccer schedule. The Cavaliers are now scheduled toplay the Maryland Terrapins on Sunday, November 4th at 1:00 p.m.The contest was originally scheduled for Friday, November 2nd at7:00 p.m. The game will be played in College Park, Md. at Ludwig Field.

MARTINO NAMED ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Virginia’s Kyle Martinoearned the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Soccer Player of theWeek honor (9/10) after leading the Cavaliers to a 4-2 victoryover American (9/7) and a 3-2 win over Creighton (9/9) in the2001 Maryland/Fila Classic. Martino, a junior midfielder, scoredone goal and added four assists in two games in the tournament.In the Cavaliers match with American, Martino scored a goal andhad two assists. Against #11 Creighton, he recorded the assist ontwo of the Cavaliers three goals. For his outstanding play, Martinowas named the Offensive Most Valuable Player of the 2001Maryland/Fila Classic.

MARTINO NAMED TO SOCCER AMERICA’S TEAM OF THE WEEK: Virginia’sKyle Martino was named to Soccer America’s Team of the Week onSeptember 10th after scoring one goal and recording fours assistsfor the week.

VIRGINIA CHANGES GAME DATE WITH UNC-GREENSBORO: University ofVirginia men’s soccer head coach George Gelnovatch announced achange in the 2001 Virginia men’s soccer schedule. The Cavaliersare now scheduled to host the UNC-Greensboro Spartans on Tuesday,October 30th at 7:00 p.m. The contest was originally scheduledfor Saturday, October 27th at 7:00 p.m. The game will be playedat Kl?ckner Stadium.

VIRGINIA WINS 2001 MARYLAND/FILA CLASSIC: The Virginia Cavaliersfinished 2-0 and won the 2001 Maryland/Fila Classic. Virginiadefeated the American Eagles by the score of 4-2 in the firstmatch of the tournament (9/7) before posting a 3-2 victory overCreighton in the third contest of the event (9/9). Creightonfinished in second place with a 1-1 record, followed by Maryland(1-1) in third place and American (0-2) in fourth.

VIRGINIA’S MARTINO, ESKANDARIAN, GIBBS & LEONARD NAMED TOMARYLAND/FILA ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Virginia’s Kyle Martino,Alecko Eskandarian, Ryan Gibbs and Marshall Leonard were eachnamed to the 2001 Maryland/Fila Classic All-Tournament team.Martino was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player onoffense after posting four assists and a goal through two games.Eskandarian and Gibbs each scored two goals through two contests,and Leonard paced a strong defensive stand in UVa’s backfield.

VIRGINIA FINISHES SECOND IN 2001 VIRGINIA SOCCER CLASSIC: TheVirginia Cavaliers finished in second place in the 2001Virginia Soccer Classic. UVa defeated the Liberty Flames 2-1(8/31) before tying the #7 ranked UCLA Bruins 2-2 (9/2). TheMaryland Terrapins won the tournament with a 2-0-0 record afterpost 2-1 decisions over both UCLA and Liberty. UCLA finished0-1-1 in third place, followed by Liberty (0-0-2) in fourth place.

VIRGINIA’S COLE, ESKANDARIAN & LEONARD NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENTTEAM: UVa’s Jonathan Cole, Alecko Eskandarian and Marshall Leonardwere named to the 2001 Virginia Soccer Classic All-Tournament team.The trio helped guide Virginia to a second place finish and arecord of 1-0-1 in the tournament. Cole and Leonard playedoutstanding defense for the Cavaliers, and Eskandarian scoreda goal in each game for Virginia.

HOME OPENERS: Virginia is 41-14-3 (.738) all-time in home openersdating back to the start of the 1941 season. However, over the past33 years, Virginia has been nearly unbeatable in home openers.The Cavaliers have posted a record of 29-2-2 (.909) during thattime span, including seven consecutive home-opening victories.The last time Virginia was defeated in a home opener was onSeptember 3, 1994 when Boston University handed the Cavaliersa 3-2 defeat. Although UVa began that season with a loss, Virginiadidn’t miss a beat the rest of the season and closed out the yearwith their fifth National Championship.

ESKANDARIAN & MARTINO NAMED 2001 HERMANN TROPHY AWARD CANDIDATES:University of Virginia men’s soccer players Alecko Eskandarianand Kyle Martino were two of 13 player announced by the HermannFoundation and TEAMtalk, Inc., as candidates for the 2001Hermann Trophy Award – college soccer’s oldest and most prestigiousplayer of the year award. The Hermann Trophy, college soccer’sequivalent of the Heisman Trophy in college football, has beengiven annually since 1967 to the nation’s best male collegesoccer player. The Hermann Trophy is named for Robert R.Hermann, the former Chairman of the Executive Committee of theold North American Soccer League and one of the ground-breakingleague’s founders.

The other men’s candidates are: the University of Connecticut’sChris Gbandi, Indiana’s Pat Noonan, SMU’s Mohamed Fahim andCarl Bussey, Penn State’s Ricardo Villar, Saint Louis’ Brad Davis,Clemson’s Oguchi Onyewu, Stanford’s Lee Morrison, Bradley’sGavin Glinton, Furman’s John Barry Nusum, and UCLA’s Alex Yi.

The candidates were chosen by a ballot of Division I college coachesand selected media. In a twist added to the selection process thisyear, two spots on the final ballot will remain open until Oct. 1.At that time, a poll of coaches and media will be conducted to addthe final two names to each of the 15-player ballots before the finalvoting is conducted. This is to ensure that any player having a stellarseason will be eligible to win the prestigious player of the year award.

Final ballots will be distributed to all Division I college coaches,tabulated, and three finalists will be announced on Dec. 1st.The winners of the 2001 Hermann Trophy will be announced at theCollege Cup on Dec. 15th in Columbus, Ohio.

‘HOOS RANKED IN THE PRESEASON POLLS?: Virginia entered the 2001season ranked #3 by Soccer America and #7 in the country accordingto the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Top 25poll. The Cavaliers were also picked to finish second in the ACC bythe conference’s coaches.

VIRGINIA GOES UNDEFEATED IN EXHIBITION GAMES: Virginia finished itsfive-game European exhibition tour with an undefeated record of 4-0-1.The Cavaliers played their five games in Holland and Germany. UVa’sonly tie was a 1-1 contest against 1860 Munich in Munich, Germany.Virginia began its exhibition tour with two victories – a 4-2 victoryover team G.V.V. in Eindhoven, Netherlands on Saturday, August 18thbefore handing Feyenoord a 2-0 loss in Feyenoord, Netherlands onSunday, August 19th.

LAST TIME OUT: Here is a look at the box score from all of Virginia’s2001 contests:

#2 Virginia 4, Temple 0

October 2, 2001Charlottesville, Va. - Game 9

Scoring 1 2 FTemple 0 0 0Virginia 3 1 4

Goals: UVa 4 – Cole @ 3:58 (LeBlanc), TU own-goal @ 28:39,Feeney @ 38:39 (Martino), Megaloudis @ 84:20 (Barnes, Solomon).TU – none. Shots: UVa 25, TU 2. Corner Kicks: UVa 8, TU 2.Saves: TU 7, UVa 1. Fouls: UVa 18, TU 14.Cautions: UVa 1 – Feeney, TU 1 – Mountney.Attendance: 1,899.

#2 Virginia 1, N.C. State 0

September 30, 2001Raleigh, N.C. – Game 8

Scoring 1 2 FVirginia 2 0 2N.C. State 0 0 0

Goals: UVa 2 – Cole @ 27:13 (LeBlanc), LeBlanc @ 39:13 (Gibbs).NCSU 0. Shots: UVa 14, NCSU 5. Corner Kicks: UVa 8, NCSU 2.Saves: NCSU 6, UVa 2. Fouls: NCSU 23, UVa 14.Cautions: NCSU 3 – Tabor, Branch, Baldwin.UVa 1 – Gelnovatch (head coach).Attendance: 512.

#2 Virginia 1, William & Mary 0

September 26, 2001Charlottesville, Va. - Game 7

Scoring 1 2 FWilliam & Mary 0 0 0Virginia 0 1 1

Goals: UVa 1 – Martino @ 88:04 (penalty kick).Shots: UVa 17, W&M 4. Corner Kicks: UVa 12, W&M 3.Saves: W&M 4, UVa 1. Fouls: W&M 33, UVa 9.Cautions: UVa 2 – Cole, Leonard. W&M 1 – Hernandez.Attendance: 2,793.

#2 Virginia 2, #13 North Carolina 0

September 22, 2001Charlottesville, Va. - Game 6

Scoring 1 2 FNorth Carolina 0 0 0Virginia 1 1 2

Goals: UVa 2 – Gibbs @ 43:18 (LeBlanc, Leonard),Gibbs @ 78:25 (Martino, Arena). Shots: UVa 11, UNC 6.Corner Kicks: UVa 7, UNC 4. Saves: UNC 4, UVa 3.Fouls: UVa 24, UNC 16.Cautions: UVa 3 – Arena, Comfort, Hartman. UNC 1- Stokes.Attendance: 3,193.

#2 Virginia 1, Wake Forest 0

September 17, 2001Charlottesville, Va. - Game 5

Scoring 1 2 FWake Forest 0 0 0Virginia 1 0 1

Goals: UVa 1 – Eskandarian @ 34:25 (Martino, Cole). WFU 0.Shots: UVa 16, WFU 9. Corner Kicks: UVa 6, WFU 4.Saves: WFU 8, UVa 2. Fouls: WFU 23, UVa 19.Cautions: UVa 1 – Leonard, WFU 0. Attendance: 1,203.

#3 Virginia 3, #11 Creighton 2

September 9, 2001College Park, Md. - Game 4

Scoring 1 2 FCreighton 1 1 2Virginia 1 2 3

Goals: UVa 3 – Creighton own goal @ 5:05,Gibbs (2) @ 53:46 (Martino), Gibbs @ 55:41 (Martino).CU 2 – Del Monte @ 34:30 (Wagenfuher),Tranchilla @ 67:52 (penalty kick).Shots: UVa 13, CU 6. Corner Kicks: CU 7, UVa 2.Saves: UVa 3, CU 2. Fouls: UVa 39, CU 20.Cautions: UVa 3 – Arena, Leonard, Gelnovatch (coach).CU 1 – Sawarynski.Attendance: 333.

#3 Virginia 4, American 2

September 7, 2001College Park, Md. - Game 3

Scoring 1 2 FAmerican 1 1 2Virginia 2 2 4

Goals: UVa 4 – Eskandarian @ 22:29 (Martino),AU own goal @ 23:57, Eskandarian @ 68:25 (Martino, Leonard),Martino @ 70:58 (penalty kick).AU 2 – Bertsch @ 35:08 (penalty kick), Espinal @ 45:44 (Bertsch).Shots: UVa 10, AU 8. Corner Kicks: UVa 4, AU 1. Saves: AU 5, UVa 2.Fouls: AU 23, UVa 20.Cautions: AU 2 – Kinney, Brennan. UVa 1 – Martino.Attendance: 533.

#3 Virginia 2, #7 UCLA 2

September 2, 2001Charlottesville, Va. - Game 2

Scoring 1 2 1OT 2OT FinalUCLA 1 1 0 0 2Virginia 1 1 0 0 2

Goals: UVa 2 – Martino @ 25:50, Eskandarian @ 70:52.UCLA 2 – Thompson @ 41:03 (Futagaki), Pierce @ 55:25.Shots: UVa 23, UCLA 12. Corner Kicks: UVa 8, UCLA 8.Saves: UCLA 10, UVa 5. Fouls: UCLA 30, UVa 23.Cautions: UVa 2 – Totten, LeBlanc. UCLA 2 – Futagaki, Griffin.Attendance: 2,592.

#3 Virginia 2, Liberty 1

August 31, 2001Charlottesville, Va. - Game 1

Scoring 1 2 FinalLiberty 1 0 1Virginia 0 2 2

Goals: UVa 2 – Eskandarian @ 47:25 (Arena, Totten),Arena @ 86:43 (Leonard). LU 1 – Monka @ 16:30 (Streets, Cancura).Shots: UVa 28, LU 5. Corner Kicks: UVa 15, LU 1.Saves: LU 9, UVa 2. Fouls: UVa 16, LU 15.Cautions: LU 1 – Cancura, UVa 0.Attendance: 1,871.