Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer

History

The University of Virginia first fielded a varsity men's soccer team in 1941 as an independent team. In their first season, the team posted a winless record, losing all nine of their matches.

The team made their first appearance in the NCAA Men's Division I Soccer Championship in 1969, where they played their out-of-state rivals, the Maryland Terrapins. The team was eliminated in the first round of the tournament following a 5–0 defeat. Ten years would pass before the Cavaliers would make their second tournament appearance, this time losing to the American Eagles, 1–0 in the opening round. The team would make two more NCAA tournament appearances, in 1981 and 1982, before eventually progressing past the first round of the tournament. In the 1983 tournament, the Cavaliers defeated stateside opponents William & Mary Tribe by a 2–1 scoreline to advance into the quarterfinals. The tournament would culimnate with a quarterfinal victory over the San Francisco Dons before bowing out in the semifinals to the eventual champions, the Indiana Hoosiers.

During this period though, led under head coach Bruce Arena, the Cavaliers developed a well-renowned reputation as being one of the most elite soccer programs in the country. Following their 1981 tournament appearance, the Cavaliers would qualify for the NCAA Men's Division I tournament every consecutive season to date, one of the longest streaks in NCAA history for any sport. Their apex came in the late 1980s to early 1990s, 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 the championship team. The Cavaliers would win the 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994 editions of the tournament.

Subsequent to their dynasty run, the United States Soccer Federation, in the promise of hosting the 1994 FIFA World Cup instituted the creation of a new top tier professional soccer league, later to be named Major League Soccer. Upon the creation of the league, one of the league's clubs, D.C. United hired Arena as their full-time head coach, where he led them to three MLS Cup titles, two Supporters' Shields and a CONCACAF title.

The departure of Arena saw a new replacement fill managerial duties in 1996. Arena would be replaced by longtime assistant, George Gelnovatch, whom still today coaches the team.

Initially under the helm of Gelnovatch, the Cavaliers were still a fairly successful team in the Atlantic Coast Conference and in the NCAA tournaments, although their success in the latter half of the 1990s and early 2000s (decade) could not replicate the same success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During Gelnovatch's early years, the team's best finish was making the finals of the 1997 NCAA Men's Soccer championship, but to only lose 2–0 to the UCLA Bruins.

After a period of decline in the early 2000s (decade), the team had a successful campaign in 2009, reaching the final for the first time since 1997. Playing against the recently upstart Akron Zips, the Cavaliers were able to defeat the Zips in a penalty kick shootout to claim their sixth NCAA title, and their first national championship since the Arena years.

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.

Rivalries

Best known for their college football rivalry many cite the rivalry between the Cavaliers and the Maryland Terrapins as one of the most bitter rivalries in college soccer. The two sides have long been heavyweights in the ACC and are among the colleges with the most NCAA Division I championships in the sport. Throughout the 1970s, the rivalry was heavily dominated by Maryland only for the fortunes to be reversed in the 1990s. Additionally, the two sides have clashed six times against one another in the ACC championship. The Terrapins' departure to the Big Ten has put the rivalry on hiatus.

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 27–2–3 record against the Hokies. However, in ACC play, the Cavaliers "only" better the Hokies by 5–2–3 mark, being undefeated against the Hokies in the past 6 ACC matchups between the two.

With the success of Colonial Athletic Association teams in men's collegiate soccer, as well as their geographic proximity, there has been reported rivalries between the Cavaliers and the Old Dominion Monarchs, the Virginia Commonwealth Rams and the William & Mary Tribe. The Cavaliers have met these opponents in numerous out of conference games, and in the NCAA tournament where they have even been defeated by Old Dominion.

2014–15 squad

As of August, 2014

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

Team management

Seasons

Source: [1]

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Honors

Notable Alumni

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