Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer

Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer
2024 Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer team
Founded	1941;84 years ago (1941)
University	University of Virginia
Athletic director	Carla Williams
Head coach	George Gelnovatch (29th season)
Conference	ACC Coastal Division
Location	Charlottesville, Virginia
Stadium	Klöckner Stadium (Capacity: 7,100)
Nickname	Cavaliers, Wahoos
Colors	Orange and blue [1]
Home Away
NCAA Tournament championships
1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2009, 2014
NCAA Tournament runner-up
1997, 2019
NCAA Tournament College Cup
1983, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2006, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2019
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
1983, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2019
NCAA Tournament appearances
1969, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024
Conference Tournament championships
1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2019
Conference Regular Season championships
1969, 1970, 1979, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2010, 2019

The Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer team represent the University of Virginia in all NCAA Division I men's soccer competitions. The Virginia Cavaliers are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Virginia has an extensive reputation as one of the most elite collegiate soccer programs of the United States. ^[2] The program has produced several prominent United States national team players such as Claudio Reyna, John Harkes, Jeff Agoos, Ben Olsen, and Tony Meola. Future U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena coached Virginia to five College Cup titles in a six-year period during the 1980s and 1990s, and his protégé George Gelnovatch has since guided the Cavaliers to six College Cups and four championship games, winning two of them. ^[3]

The Cavaliers made the College Cup tournament bracket for a record 39 consecutive years, which ended in 2020, the most of any team in the history of the sport. The program has won seven NCAA Championships (1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2009, 2014) and have the most national titles of any program since 1990. Virginia ranks third overall in the sport's championship history since 1959.

History

The University of Virginia first fielded a varsity men's soccer team in 1941 as a member of the Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association. In their first season, the team posted a winless record, losing all nine of their matches. The Atlantic Coast Conference added soccer in 1955, followed by the first NCAA Men's Division I Soccer Championship in 1959. The team made their first appearance in the NCAA tournament in 1969.

Bruce Arena became Virginia's soccer and assistant lacrosse coach in 1978, moving exclusively to soccer in 1985. The Cavaliers' first tournament victory, over William and Mary in 1983 (a team featuring future comedian Jon Stewart), sparked a run to their first College Cup appearance.

The Cavaliers have qualified for the NCAA tournament every year since 1981; those 39 appearances are a record for men's soccer and one of the longest streaks in any NCAA sport. Their apex came in the late 1980s to early 1990s under Arena, when the team won five national collegiate championships in the span of six years. Future U.S. men's national team stars such as John Harkes and Claudio Reyna were members of these championship teams.

Virginia's first championship, in 1989, came in one of the most famous games in the history of college soccer. Played at Rutgers University on December 3 against Santa Clara, the wind chill was ten degrees below zero at kickoff and fell further during the game. Virginia led the defensive slugfest 1–0 before a rare mistake from Curt Onalfo in the 84th minute allowed Santa Clara to send the game to overtime. As NCAA rules had recently changed to limit games to one 30-minute overtime followed by a 30-minute sudden-death period – after the 1985 final required eight 10-minute extra periods – and did not allow penalty kicks in the final, Virginia and Santa Clara were declared co-champions when the game remained tied 1–1 after 150 minutes. ^[4]

The Cavaliers went on to win the 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994 editions of the tournament, and as the first overall seed were upset in the semifinals in 1995. The four consecutive championships remains an NCAA record; no other team managed even three in a row until Stanford did so in 2017.

Arena departed for the new men's professional league Major League Soccer in 1996, where he led D.C. United to three MLS Cup titles, two Supporters' Shields and a CONCACAF Champions League title. He was replaced by longtime assistant George Gelnovatch, who remains the coach today. Gelnovatch returned the team to the 1997 final, where they lost 2–0 to UCLA.

After a string of early-round exits in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the team returned to the College Cup in 2006 and the national championship game in 2009. Playing against the upstart Akron Zips that year, the Cavaliers were able to prevail in a penalty kick shootout to claim their sixth NCAA title, and their first national championship since the Arena years. Virginia added a seventh NCAA championship by defeating UCLA in a shootout in the 2014 tournament.

Stadium

Main article: Klöckner Stadium

One of the earliest soccer-specific stadiums in college soccer, the Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer team plays their home matches at the 8,000-seater Klöckner Stadium. Since its opening in 1997, the Cavaliers have enjoyed some of the highest reported attendance figures in American college soccer.

The stadium has 3,600 grandstand seats along with an additional 3,400 grass seats. It is shared with the women's soccer team, as well as the men's and women's lacrosse teams. ^[5]

Rivalries

Maryland

Main article: Maryland–Virginia men's soccer rivalry

Both UVA and Maryland have NCAA Championship programs in men's soccer. The Virginia Cavaliers have won seven NCAA Championships to Maryland's four. When they were both in the Atlantic Coast Conference, some cited the rivalry between the Cavaliers and the Maryland Terrapins as one of the most bitter rivalries in college soccer. ^[6] In 2011, FirstPoint USA rated the rivalry as the third best rivalry in college soccer. ^[7]

The Terrapins' departure to the Big Ten has put the annual rivalry on hiatus. Maryland recorded a 1–0 victory in the 2015 NCAA tournament and No. 12 Virginia dethroned No. 1 Maryland, 2–0, in a regular season game on September 2, 2019, helping Virginia to take over the No. 1 ranking weeks later.

Virginia Tech

Main article: Virginia – Virginia Tech rivalry

As intra-conference members, and having a longstanding rivalry, another one of the top rivals of the Virginia Cavaliers is the Virginia Tech Hokies. The series between the two has been heavily dominated by the Cavaliers, who boast a 31–2–5 record and 14-match unbeaten streak against the Hokies. ^{[8] [9]}

Players

Current roster

As of September 1, 2024 ^[10]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 0 GK   ENG Tom Miles 00 GK   USA Caleb Tunks 1 GK   USA Joey Batrouni 2 DF   USA Nick Dang 3 MF   USA Max Talley 4 DF   GER Paul Wiese 5 DF   USA Austin Rome 6 MF   ITA Umberto Pelà 7 FW   USA Hayes Wood 8 MF   USA Brendan Lambe 9 FW   DEN AJ Smith 10 MF   USA Daniel Mangarov 11 FW   ARG Joaquín Brizuela 12 MF   SWE Albin Gashi 13 FW   USA Cesar Cordova 15 FW   USA Triton Beauvois 16 MF   NZL Willem Ebbinge 17 DF   CAN Victor Akoum 18 FW   USA Kome Ubogu 19 DF   USA Reese Miller 20 FW   USA Ignacio Alem

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 DF   USA Luc Mikula 22 MF   USA Drew Serafino 23 FW   USA David Okorie 24 MF   USA Garrett Socas 25 DF   USA Donovan Maryat 26 MF   USA Amari Salley 27 MF   USA Cameron Yriondo 28 MF   USA Matthew Thissell 29 DF   USA Yassine Rhoumar 30 GK   USA Colin Gallagher 31 MF   USA Luke Burns 32 DF   USA Parker Sloan 33 DF   USA Grant Howard 34 MF   USA Miguel Kobby Adoboe 36 FW   USA Anthony Faupel 37 DF   USA Alex Parvu 38 MF   USA Baka Kante 39 DF   USA Jed Akwaboah 46 DF   USA Matthew Hunter 99 GK   USA Spencer Sanderson

Notable alumni

Main page: Category:Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer players

As of March 6, 2025

• George Gelnovatch (1983–1986) – Currently head coach of Virginia
• Jeff Agoos ^* (1986–1990) – Currently president and general manager of Portland Thorns FC
• Kris Kelderman (1987–1990) – Currently head coach of University of Milwaukee
• Richie Williams (1988–1991) – Currently head coach of New England Revolution II
• Brad Agoos (1989–1992) – Currently head coach of Black Rock FC
• Clint Peay (1991–1995) – Currently assistant coach coach of New England Revolution
• Ben Olsen ^* (1995–1997) – Currently head coach of Houston Dynamo FC
• Matt Chulis (1995–1998) – Currently associate head coach of Virginia
• Kyle Martino ^* (1999–2002) – Currently soccer analyst for NBC Sports
• Kenny Arena (1999–2002) – Currently assistant coach of FC Cincinnati
• Hunter Freeman (2002–2004) – Currently Director of Scouting of FC Cincinnati
• Chris Tierney (2004–2007) – Currently Assistant Sporting Director of New England Revolution
• Brian Ownby (2008–2011) – Currently with Louisville City FC
• Calle Brown (2010–2014) – Currently with Northern Virginia FC
• Jake Rozhansky (2014–2015) – Currently with New York City FC II
• Peter Pearson ^* (2014–2016) – Currently with Des Moines Menace and Saint Lucia international
• Derrick Etienne ^* (2015) – Currently with Toronto FC and Haiti international
• Terrell Lowe (2016) – Currently with PDX FC
• Sergi Nus (2016–2018) – Currently with South Georgia Tormenta FC
• Colin Shutler (2016–2020) – Currently with Orange County SC
• Joe Bell ^* (2017–2019) – Currently with Viking FK and New Zealand international
• Henry Kessler ^* (2017–2019) – Currently with St. Louis City SC
• Irakoze Donasiyano ^* (2017–2020) – Currently with Oakland Roots SC
• Daryl Dike ^* (2018–2019) – Currently with West Bromwich Albion F.C.
• Daniel Steedman (2018–2019) – Currently with South Georgia Tormenta FC
• Bret Halsey (2018–2020) – Currently with FC Cincinnati
• Alex Rando (2020) – Currently with New York City FC
• Oliver Gerbig ^* (2020–2021) – Currently with Henan F.C. and Hong Kong international
• Leo Afonso (2020–2023) – Currently with Inter Miami CF
• Aidan O'Connor – Currently with New York Red Bulls II

^* – Player has represented their country at the senior national team level

Coaches

Current staff

Updated January 26, 2024 ^[10]

Position	Name
Head coach	George Gelnovatch
Associate Head Coach	Matt Chulis
Associate Head Coach	Adam Perron
Assistant coach	Jermaine Birriel

Head coaching history

Dates	Name
1941–1950	Lawrence Ludwig
1951–1953	Hugh Moomaw
1954	Wilson Fewster
1955–1957	Robert Sandell
1958–1965	Gene Corrigan
1966–1970	Gordon Burris
1971–1973	Jim Stephens
1974–1977	Larry Gross
1978–1995	Bruce Arena
1996–present	George Gelnovatch

Honours

National

• NCAA Division I tournament
  • Winners (7): 1989 ^{[n 1]} , 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2009, 2014
  • Runners-up (2): 1997, 2019

Conference

• ACC tournament
  • Winners (11): 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2019
  • Runners-up (8): 1990, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2017
• ACC regular season
  • First Place (19): 1969, 1970, 1979, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2010, 2019
  • Runners-up (8): 1956, 1957, 1963, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2016
• Commonwealth Clash ^[11]
  • Winners (31): 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019
  • Runners-up (2): 2004, 2005
• Virginia Intercollegiate Soccer Association tournament
  • Winners (9): 1961, 1962, 1963, 1970, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1984
  • Runners-up (3): 1964, 1967, 1971

Notes

1. Title shared after the final ended in a tie, with no extra time played.

Seasons

Source: ^[12]

Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Virginia (Independent)(1941–1953)
1941	Lawrence Ludwig	0–9–0
1942	Lawrence Ludwig	4–2–1
1943–1945	No team due to World War II
1946	Lawrence Ludwig	1–3–1
1947	Lawrence Ludwig	2–7–2
1948	Lawrence Ludwig	3–7–1
1949	Lawrence Ludwig	5–5–0
1950	Lawrence Ludwig	4–5–1
1951	Hugh Moomaw	1–5–2
1952	Hugh Moomaw	5–2–2
1953	Hugh Moomaw	4–4–1
Virginia (ACC)(1953–present)
1954	Wilson Fewster	2–4–2	1–1–2	4th
1955	Robert Sandell	3–5–2	1–2–1	3rd
1956	Robert Sandell	6–3–0	3–1–0	2nd
1957	Robert Sandell	5–2–1	2–1–1	2nd
1958	Gene Corrigan	5–4–0	1–3–0	4th
1959	Gene Corrigan	3–4–2	2–2–0	3rd
1960	Gene Corrigan	3–7–0	1–3–0	4th
1961	Gene Corrigan	9–3–0	1–3–0	4th	VISA Champions
1962	Gene Corrigan	5–4–1	1–3–0	4th	VISA Champions
1963	Gene Corrigan	7–2–1	2–1–1	2nd	VISA Champions
1964	Gene Corrigan	4–5–2	0–4–0	5th
1965	Gene Corrigan	3–6–1	2–2–0	3rd
1966	Gordon Burris	0–10–0	0–4–0	6th
1967	Gordon Burris	3–9–0	0–4–0	6th
1968	Gordon Burris	4–5–1	1–3–1	6th
1969	Gordon Burris	9–1–2	4–0–1	1st	VISA co-champions NCAA First Round
1970	Gordon Burris	8–2–1	3–1–0	1st	VISA Champions
1971	Jim Stephens	7–5–1	1–3–1	6th
1972	Jim Stephens	8–3–3	1–2–2	4th
1973	Jim Stephens	6–7–0	1–4–0	6th
1974	Larry Gross	5–4–3	3–2–0	3rd
1975	Larry Gross	5–8–0	0–5–0	6th
1976	Larry Gross	8–6–2	2–2–1	3rd
1977	Larry Gross	12–6–1	2–3–0	4th	VISA Champions
1978	Bruce Arena	9–2–2	3–2–0	3rd
1979	Bruce Arena	12–4–1	3–1–1	3rd	NCAA Second Round
1980	Bruce Arena	8–9–1	2–3–1	5th
1981	Bruce Arena	10–6–2	2–4–0	6th	VISA Champions NCAA Second Round
1982	Bruce Arena	16–2–2	3–1–2	3rd	VISA Champions NCAA Second Round
1983	Bruce Arena	16–5–0	5–1–0	1st	NCAA College Cup
1984	Bruce Arena	19–3–1	6–0–0	1st	VISA Champions NCAA Quarterfinals
1985	Bruce Arena	15–4–1	4–1–1	2nd	NCAA First Round
1986	Bruce Arena	17–2–2	6–0–0	1st	NCAA First Round
1987	Bruce Arena	17–3–2	5–0–1	1st	ACC Semifinals [a] NCAA Second Round
1988	Bruce Arena	18–1–3	5–0–1	1st	ACC Champions NCAA Quarterfinals
1989	Bruce Arena	21–2–2	5–0–1	1st	NCAA co-champions
1990	Bruce Arena	12–6–6	3–2–1	3rd	NCAA Third Round
1991	Bruce Arena	19–1–2	5–1–0	1st	ACC Champions NCAA Champions
1992	Bruce Arena	21–2–1	5–1–0	1st	ACC Champions NCAA Champions
1993	Bruce Arena	22–3–0	4–2–0	3rd	ACC Champions NCAA Champions
1994	Bruce Arena	22–3–1	4–2–0	2nd	ACC Champions NCAA Champions
1995	Bruce Arena	21–1–2	4–0–2	1st	ACC Champions NCAA College Cup
1996	George Gelnovatch	16–3–3	4–0–2	1st	NCAA First Round
1997	George Gelnovatch	19–4–3	3–1–2	2nd	ACC Champions NCAA Runners-Up
1998	George Gelnovatch	16–4–3	4–1–1	2nd	NCAA Quarterfinals
1999	George Gelnovatch	14–9–1	1–4–1	6th	NCAA Quarterfinals
2000	George Gelnovatch	17–6–1	5–1–0	1st	NCAA Quarterfinals
2001	George Gelnovatch	17–2–1	6–0–0	1st	NCAA Second Round
2002	George Gelnovatch	15–7–0	3–3–0	4th	NCAA Second Round
2003	George Gelnovatch	11–10–2	3–3–0	3rd	NCAA Third Round
2004	George Gelnovatch	18–5–1	4–3–1	4th	NCAA Quarterfinals
2005	George Gelnovatch	12–5–3	6–2–0	2nd	NCAA Third Round
2006	George Gelnovatch	17–4–1	5–3–0	3rd	NCAA College Cup
2007	George Gelnovatch	12–8–2	1–5–2	8th	NCAA Second Round
2008	George Gelnovatch	11–9–1	4–4–0	4th	NCAA Second Round
2009	George Gelnovatch	19–3–3	4–3–1	5th	NCAA Champions
2010	George Gelnovatch	11–6–3	2–4–2	6th	NCAA First Round
2011	George Gelnovatch	12–8–1	4–3–1	3rd	ACC Semifinals NCAA First Round
2012	George Gelnovatch	10–7–1	3–4–1	6th	ACC Semifinals NCAA Second Round
2013	George Gelnovatch	13–6–5	4–3–4	6th	ACC Runners-up NCAA College Cup
2014	George Gelnovatch	13–6–4	3–3–2	4th, Coastal	ACC Quarterfinals NCAA Champions
2015	George Gelnovatch	10–5–3	4–2–2	3rd, Coastal	ACC Quarterfinals NCAA Second Round
2016	George Gelnovatch	10–3–5	4–2–3	2nd, Coastal	ACC Quarterfinals NCAA Third Round
2017	George Gelnovatch	13–4–5	3–2–3	3rd, Coastal	ACC Runners-up NCAA Second Round
2018	George Gelnovatch	10–4–3	3–2–2	3rd, Coastal	ACC First Round NCAA Third Round
2019	George Gelnovatch	21–1–2	6–1–1	1st, Coastal	ACC Champions NCAA Runners-Up
2020	George Gelnovatch	7–8–1	4–7–1	4th, North, 4th Coastal	ACC Semifinals
2021	George Gelnovatch	6–9–3	2–5–1	6th Coastal	ACC First Round
2022	George Gelnovatch	10–4–5	5–1–2	2nd Coastal	ACC Semifinals NCAA Second Round
2023	George Gelnovatch	11–4–4	5–1–2	2nd Coastal	ACC Quarterfinals NCAA Third Round
2024	George Gelnovatch	11–7–3	3–3–2	T-8th	ACC Semifinals NCAA Third Round
Total:		TBD
National champion        Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Notes

1. The ACC Men's Soccer Tournament began in 1987. ^[13]

References

General

• NCAA results and statistics sourced to: "NCAA Tournament Results & Awards". University of Virginia. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
• ACC tournament results and statistics sourced to: "UVa in the ACC Tournament". Atlantic Coast Conference. University of Virginia. Retrieved August 20, 2011.

Citations

1. "Athletics Color Palette". University of Virginia Consumer Product Brand Standards (PDF). Retrieved January 16, 2023.
2. Teel, David (December 15, 2014). "Virginia men's soccer joins elite ACC company with seventh NCAA title". Daily Press . Retrieved December 29, 2017.
3. Virginia wins 7th NCAA Championship in shootout versus UCLA, accessed December 14, 2014
4. Goff, Steven (December 4, 1989). "Virginia, Santa Clara tie for title". Washington Post.
5. "Klöckner Stadium and Team Locker Rooms". University of Virginia. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
6. "Virginia, Maryland Renew Men's Soccer Rivalry This Weekend". University of Virginia. CBSSports.com. September 12, 1998. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
7. CollegeSoccerNews.com (May 9, 2011). "The 5 Greatest Rivalries in College Soccer". First Point USA. Archived from the original on March 30, 2012.
8. "#4 VIRGINIA vs. #16 VIRGINIA TECH" (PDF).
9. "Men's soccer: No. 10 UVA, No. 21 Virginia Tech play to 1–1 draw". Augusta Free Press. September 8, 2018.
10. "2024 Men's Soccer Roster". virginiasports.com. University of Virginia Athletics. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
11. "Virginia Tech-Virginia Men's Soccer Series History". hokiesports.com. September 15, 2017. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
13. "ACC Men's Soccer Record Book" (PDF). Atlantic Coast Conference . theacc.com. November 16, 2017. p. 92. Retrieved November 25, 2017.

External links

• Official website