UVa Soccer Class Includes National Team Players

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March 22, 2007

Charlottesville, VA – Virginia head men’s soccer coach George Gelnovatch has announced his 2007 men’s soccer recruiting class. Gelnovatch and his coaching staff signed one of the top classes in the country including four players with experience on the U.S. Under-18 National Team. The five-member class consists of T.J. Cyrus (Virginia Beach, Va.), Colin Given (Troy, Mich.), Jason Kim (Irvine, Calif.), Danny Louisignau (Wilmington, Del.) and Jimmy Simpson (Warrenton, Va.).

“This could be one of our top classes in a while,” Gelnovatch said. “We are very excited to have these players join our program. Some of them have the skills to immediately contribute. This is a class that has a significant amount of experience with our National Team and that will be a tremendous benefit for their adjustment to the highest level of collegiate play. It was a lot of work, but the arrival of these players, in addition to the players who have developed in the program, will help us make up for the losses of senior Adam Cristman as well as Nico Colaluca and Bakary Sourmare, who were all taken in the MLS Draft.”

Four of the signees are currently listed in the player pool of the Under-18. U.S. National Team. Simpson is a midfielder while Cyrus and Givens are defensive backs and Louisignau (pronounced LOUIS-now) is a keeper on the National Team roster.

Cyrus was named to the adidas/NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America) All-America team for his junior season. As a prep standout, he helped the Norfolk Academy to a 23-1 record in 2006 and was named the NSCAA Virginia State Player of the Year. He was a three-time all-state, all-conference and all-Prep League selection. A starter since ninth grade at the Norfolk Academy, he helped the team to a four-year record of 85-5-4 and the state championship game in 2006 and a semifinal appearance in 2003. Last season Norfolk Academy was ranked as high as 11th in the nation for high school programs by StudentSports.com. He was rated the No. 18 recruit in the nation by RISE.com.

T.J. Cyrus

Cyrus has been in Virginia’s Olympic Development Program the past five years and captained the state team the past two seasons. Playing for the state ODP team, he has gained international experience in Germany (twice), Spain and Canada. He has been selected as a pool player for the Region team the past three years and the National Team in 2004 and 2007. He competed with the Under-18 National Team in Mexico for the Copa Chivas tournament. He participated in adidas/ESP Camp in 2006

Givens earned all-state, all-district and all-region honors the past two years playing forward for Troy (Mich.) High School. He was a Michigan Coaches’ “Dream Team” selection as a senior. His freshman season Troy won the state title when he scored the game winner in overtime. As a sophomore they reached the regional finals. He was a team captain at Troy as a junior and senior. Givens was named to the 2006 NSCAA/adidas Boys Youth All-America Team. He was rated the No. 7 recruit in the nation by RISE.com. Givens holds dual citizenship in for both the U.S. and Great Britain.

Colin Given

While competing for the U.S. Under-18 team, he played in the 2006 Lisbon Cup and the 2006 Slovakia Cup. As a member of the 2005 Region II squad he played in the Disney Showcase, the Austin All-Star and the Argentina International. He has been a member of the Michigan ODP since 2002 and a Region II player since 2004. He helped the Vardar Stars club team to the 2005 Region 2 championship and a semifinal appearance at the national tournament. In 2004 Vadar won the Michigan State Cup and was a semifinalist at the Disney Showcase.

“T.J. and Colin are very highly regarded on the national team,” Gelnovatch said. “I really think we picked up two of the best defensive backs in the country. They had both been exposed to tremendous competition at a very high level.”

Louisignau plays for the Baltimore Bays club team that was ranked No. 7 by Soccer America last season. He had a shutout in the championship match of 2006 US Youth National Championships to lead Baltimore Casa Mia Bays to the Under-16 Boys Championship (D.J. Niotis Cup). He was presented the Golden Glove Award for U16 at 2006 US Youth National Championships. The Bays also won the Maryland state championships, the Potomac Memorial Day title and the Bethesda Tournament. From 2001 to 2005 he played for the Hockessin Blizzard club team that won the Delaware state title from 2002 to 2005. He has been a member of the Delaware ODP for the past four seasons. He was in the regional pool in 2004 and 2005 and on the regional team and in the national pool in 2003. Internationally, he played in the SASSI Tournament in Italy in 2005.

Danny Louisignau

Louisignau was a three-year varsity player at Concord High School. He earned all-conference honors as a freshman and was all-state his sophomore season. He helped the Raiders to the state tournament during his junior and senior seasons.

“We have not had a keeper with Dan’s size and athleticism in a while,” Gelnovatch said. “Most keepers need time to make the adjustment to college, so we expect he will be a player who can help us down the road. We’re very excited to have him. His experience with the Under-18 team has been great for his development.”

Simpson played club soccer with three-time Virginia state champion PWSI Courage 88 for coach Bill Lanza. He started as a freshman and sophomore at Fauquier High School in Warrenton, Virginia. He did not play high school soccer in 2006 to focus on training but returned to the team this spring. The Washington Post named him to its All-Met tem in 2005 as a sophomore.

Jimmy Simpson

Simpson is a four-time state ODP and two-time Region 1 ODP selection. He competed in Germany and Italy in 2006 with ODP state and regional teams. He first visited Virginia as a 12-year old youth player and always had the goal of playing his collegiate soccer for the Cavaliers.

“Simpson is another player who is very athletic,” Gelnovatch said. “He has played a lot of positions and could help us in several different areas. Again, the opportunities he has had to participate in the Under-18 camps has been tremendous for his growth as a player.”

The fifth member of the signing class, Kim, is a native of South Korea and not eligible to play on U.S. national teams. He prepped at Woodbridge (Calif.) High School where he played midfield, scoring nine goals and totaling five assists as a senior. He was named to the all-Orange County team this year and was the Sea View League MVP. He was named to the Southern California All-Star Team and is a member of the Region IV ODP squad. He has played internationally in Germany with the Region IV team.

“Jason not being on a national team might put him a little under everyone’s radar, but there are a lot of hard-core soccer aficionados who think he is one of the top prospects in the country,” Gelnovatch said. “He is very athletic and possess great skills. We think he could be something really special.”

Gelnovatch credits his team’s trip to this year’s College Cup as one of the factors Kim chose to be a Cavalier. This season Virginia posted a 17-4-1 record, was ranked as high as No. 1 in the nation, set the single-season NCAA attendance record (43,183) and made its ninth trip to soccer’s Final Four.

“Our success this year certainly helped with recruiting,” Gelnovatch said. “Being able to attract four players who have been on the Under-18 National Team is certainly something that has gotten noticed.”