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Virginia Men's Soccer Announces Recruiting Class
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CHARLOTTESVILLE – Virginia head coach George Gelnovatch announced the signing of Calle Brown, Cameron Chavira, Kevin McBride, Frank “Trey” Saunders and Brian “Cobi” Span to National Letters of Intent to play soccer for the Cavaliers beginning in the fall of 2010.
“Once again I feel like we have signed the best players in the state of Virginia,” Gelnovatch said. “These players are not only very talented but have the character that we are looking for in our program. They all have great potential and we are looking forward to working with them. This is a well-rounded class of defenders, midfielders, attacking players and a goalkeeper.”
Calle Brown (Leesburg, Va. / Loudoun County High School), a 6-5 goalkeeper, has been a Virginia State Olympic Development Program (ODP) and District ODP team member for five years. A member of the Great Falls Soccer Club, his team (GFA ’91 Elite) won three-consecutive Virginia State Cups (Under-16, Under-17 and Under-18) and is ranked No. 1 in Virginia. A four-year starter in high school, Brown was a first team All-Region II and first team All-Dulles District in 2009. Also in 2009, Brown was an All-Met honorable mention and a VHSCA AA All-State honorable mention. In 2008, he was a second team All-Region II, first team All-Dulles district and All-Met honorable mention. Brown also played basketball and football in high school.
“Calle is a 6-5, long, athletic goalkeeper who is dominant in the air and has a lot of potential,” Gelnovatch said. “His size and athleticism brings a dimension that we haven’t had in this position.”
Cameron Chavira (Roanoke, Va. / Patrick Henry High School), a 5-9 forward, has played with the ODP program for five years and was consistently selected for the ODP Region I pool games and played in the ODP National Championship game. He played club soccer for the Roanoke Star Soccer Club for nine years. The team reached the state semifinals and finals on multiple occasions and won U.S. Club Regional and National Championships. Chavira participated in the Gothia Cup in Gothenburg, Sweden, and the Lond and Watford International Festival of Football in England. He attended the Dallas Cup with the Virginia Club Champions League select team. A four-year starter and senior captain with his Patrick Henry High School soccer team, Chavira earned first team All-District, All-Region, All-State (Group AAA) and All-Timesland honors. He was named an ESPN third team high school All-America and had 51 goals and 26 assists during his high school career.
“Cameron is an athletic and technical attacking player,” Gelnovatch said. “He is a fast, tricky player who runs at defenders one-on-one very well.”
Kevin McBride (Fairfax, Va. / Chantilly), a 6-0 defender, played for DC United Academy and RFC 91 at the club level. He is a 2009 U.S. Soccer Under-18 National Championship finalist and a TopDrawerSoccer Regional Top 20 selection. He captained the U-18 DC United Academy team and was a four-year starter at Chantilly High School. At Chantilly, he earned all-metro and all-district recognition.
“Kevin is an athletic center back,” Gelnovatch said. “We feel like he can play anywhere in our back four and he reads the game well.”
Frank “Trey” Saunders (Virginia Beach, Va. / Frank W. Cox High School), a 5-7 midfielder, captained his Under-18 Virginia Rush Academy club team and his Virginia High School League AAA 2009 Championship team. He was a member of the South Conference U15/U16 USSF Development Academy Starting XI and prior to that selection was a member of the Under-17 National Team Pool and USSF Development Academy Select Team. Saunders is a member of the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society.
“Trey is a very technical and a smart player,” Gelnovatch said. “He is a tough, hardworking central midfielder with a great engine.”
Brian “Cobi” Span (Somers, N.Y., North Salem High School), a 6-3 forward, was an U17 National Team Residency player and played for FC Westchester U18 Development Academy from 2008 to 2010. A member of the 2009 Development Academy Select Team and 2008 and 2009 East Conference Starting XI, Span was on the Region I ODP team in 2006 and 2007. He also was a member of the NY ODP State Team from 2005-07. At North Salem, Span was voted MVP and was an All-Region, All-State and All-Section selection. He is nicknamed after former U.S. National Team player Cobi Jones.
“Cobi is among the top three attacking players in the country coming out of high school,” Gelnovatch said. “He is fast, athletic and technical, with size to back it up.”