# 2023 Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer team

The 2023 Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer team represented the University of Virginia during the 2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The Cavaliers were led by head coach George Gelnovatch, in his twenty-eighth season. They played their home games at Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia. This was the team's 83rd season playing organized men's college soccer and their 72nd playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Cavaliers finished the season 11–4–4 overall and 5–2–1 in ACC play to finish in second place in the Coastal Division. As the third overall seed in the ACC Tournament they earned a bye to the Quarterfinals where they were defeated by sixth seed Syracuse in penalties. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and they were the seventh overall seed. They defeated FIU in the Second Round before losing 1–0 to Indiana in the Third Round to end their season.

## Background

The Cavaliers finished the season 10–4–5 overall and 5–1–2 in ACC play to finish in second place in the Coastal Division. As the third overall seed in the ACC Tournament they defeated sixth seed Pittsburgh in the Quarterfinals before losing to eventual champions Syracuse on penalties in the Semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where they lost in the First Round to Western Michigan to end their season.

## Player movement
### Players leaving

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Isaiah Byrd | 3 | MF | 6'0" | 175 | Junior | Gainesville, Virginia | Transferred to Virginia Tech |
| Jeremy Verley | 6 | MF | 5'11" | 165 | Senior | Kingston, Jamaica | Graduated |
| Erick Kilosho | 8 | MF | 5'8" | 165 | Sophomore | Roanoke, Virginia | Transferred to George Mason |
| Philip Horton | 9 | FW | 6'0" | 185 | Junior | New Albany, Ohio | Signed Professional Contract with FC Cincinnati 2 |
| Asparuh Slavov | 10 | MF | 6'0" | 175 | Sophomore | Alpharetta, Georgia | Transferred to George Mason |
| Kevin Ogudugu | 11 | FW/MF | 5'9" | 170 | Junior | Oslo, Norway | Transferred to Northeastern |
| Moritz Kappelsberger | 13 | DF | 6'3" | 207 | Graduate Student | Rosenheim, Germany | Graduated |
| Andreas Ueland | 17 | DF | 6'5" | 190 | Senior | Bryne, Norway | Graduated; selected 68th overall in 2023 MLS SuperDraft |
| Cabrel Happi Kamseu | 20 | FW | 6'3" | 185 | Graduate Student | Harare, Zimbabwe | Graduated |
| Nils Henry Orywol | 21 | MF/DF | 5'10" | 160 | Sophomore | Frankfurt, Germany | Transferred to Tulsa |
| Andy Sullins | 25 | FW | 6'2" | 180 | Freshman | Athens, Tennessee | Transferred to Virginia Tech |
| Owen Walz | 27 | MF | 5'6" | 150 | Freshman | Arlington, Virginia | Transferred to University of San Diego |
| Henry van Wincoop | 28 | FW | 5'10" | 170 | Sophomore | Charlottesville, Virginia | — |
| Truman Glenovatch | 35 | FW | 5'10" | 185 | Graduate Student | Miami, Florida | Graduated |

### Players arriving
#### Incoming Transfers

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Joey Batrouni | 0 | GK | 6'1" | 178 | Junior | San Antonio, Texas | Coastal Carolina |
| Mouhameth Thiam | 11 | MF | 5'5" | 142 | Senior | Dakar, Senegal | Oregon State |
| Elias Norris | 21 | FW | 5'10" | 155 | Graduate Student | Bethesda, Maryland | George Washington |
| Garrett Socas | 24 | MF | 6'2" | 172 | Graduate Student | McLean, Virginia | Dartmouth |
| Jack Singer | 27 | MF | 6'1" | 175 | Graduate Student | San Francisco, California | California |
| Austin Rome | 33 | DF | 6'3" | 185 | Junior | Bowie, Maryland | Providence |

#### Recruiting Class

| Name | Nat. | Hometown | Club |
| Ignacio Alem FW | USA | Potomac, Maryland | D.C. United Academy |
| Stephen Annor Gyamfi FW | GHA | Accra, Ghana | SIMA |
| Cesar Cordova FW | USA | Houston, Texas | Houston Dynamo 2 |
| Brendan Lambe MF | USA | Apex, North Carolina | Atlanta United 2 |
| Donovan Maryat DF | USA | Brooklyn, New York | Met Oval |
| John Talley MF | USA | Memphis, Tennessee | Memphis 901 FC |
| Matthew Thissell MF | USA | Ashburn, Virginia | Bethesda Academy |
| Caleb Tunks GK | USA | Kailua-Kona, Hawaii | Solar SC |

## Squad
### Roster

    As of January 26, 2024
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 | USA | Joey Batrouni |
| 00 | GK | USA | Caleb Tunks |
| 1 | GK | USA | Scott Williams |
| 2 | DF | USA | William Citron |
| 3 | MF | USA | Max Talley |
| 4 | DF | GER | Paul Wiese |
| 5 | DF | USA | Aidan O'Connor |
| 7 | FW | BRA | Leo Afonso |
| 8 | MF | USA | Brendan Lambe |
| 9 | FW | GHA | Stephen Annor Gyamfi |
| 10 | MF | NOR | Axel Ahlander |
| 11 | MF | SEN | Mouhameth Thiam |
| 12 | MF | SWE | Albin Gashi |
| 13 | FW | USA | Cesar Cordova |
| 15 | FW | USA | Triton Beauvois |
| 16 | MF | USA | Daniel Mangarov |
| 17 | DF | CAN | Victor Akoum |
| 18 | FW | USA | Kome Ubogu |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | DF | USA | Reese Miller |
| 20 | FW | USA | Ignacio Alem |
| 21 | MF | USA | Elias Norris |
| 22 | FW | USA | Michael Tsicoulias |
| 23 | FW | USA | David Okorie |
| 24 | MF | USA | Garrett Socas |
| 25 | DF | USA | Donovan Maryat |
| 26 | MF | USA | Amari Salley |
| 27 | MF | USA | Jack Singer |
| 28 | MF | USA | Matthew Thissell |
| 29 | DF | USA | Yassine Rhoumar |
| 30 | GK | USA | Colin Gallagher |
| 31 | MF | ITA | Umberto Pelà |
| 32 | FW | USA | Parker Sloan |
| 33 | DF | USA | Austin Rome |
| 34 | MF | USA | Miguel Kobby Adoboe |
| 46 | DF | USA | Matthew Hunter |
| 99 | GK | USA | Holden Brown |

### Team management

| Position | Staff |
| Head coach | George Gelnovatch |
| Associate Head Coach | Matt Chulis |
| Associate Head Coach | Adam Perron |
| Assistant coach | Jermaine Birriel |
Source:

## Schedule

Source:
| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Regular Season ||||||
| August 24* 6:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 15 | Iona | W 1–0 | 1–0–0 | Klöckner Stadium (1,980) Charlottesville, VA |
| August 27* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 15 | Loyola Marymount | L 1–3 | 1–1–0 | Klöckner Stadium (1,445) Charlottesville, VA |
| August 31* 8:00 p.m., ACCNX | | George Mason | W 1–0 | 2–1–0 | Klöckner Stadium (1,473) Charlottesville, VA |
| September 4* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | No. 20 Maryland Rivalry | W 2–1 | 3–1–0 | Klöckner Stadium (2,139) Charlottesville, VA |
| September 8 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at No. 10 Duke | L 0–2 | 3–2–0 (0–1–0) | Koskinen Stadium (1,569) Durham, NC |
| September 12* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 9 James Madison | T 1–1 | 3–2–1 | Sentara Park (1,464) Harrisonburg, VA |
| September 16 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | NC State | W 3–1 | 4–2–1 (1–1–0) | Klöckner Stadium (2,319) Charlottesville, VA |
| September 22 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | at No. 15 Notre Dame | L 1–3 | 4–3–1 (1–2–0) | Alumni Stadium (1,710) Notre Dame, IN |
| September 26* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | ETSU | W 1–0 | 5–3–1 | Klöckner Stadium (1,400) Charlottesville, VA |
| September 29 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | No. 8 Louisville | W 3–0 | 6–3–1 (2–2–0) | Klöckner Stadium (1,761) Charlottesville, VA |
| October 3* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | No. 16 Hofstra | T 1–1 | 6–3–2 | Klöckner Stadium (1,092) Charlottesville, VA |
| October 6 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at Boston College | T 1–1 | 6–3–3 (2–2–1) | Newton Campus Soccer Field (712) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| October 13 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | No. 11 Pittsburgh | W 2–1 | 7–3–3 (3–2–1) | Klöckner Stadium (2,551) Charlottesville, VA |
| October 20 6:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at Virginia Tech Rivalry | W 3–0 | 8–3–3 (4–2–1) | Thompson Field (2,061) Blacksburg, VA |
| October 24* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 14 | High Point | W 3–1 | 9–3–3 | Klöckner Stadium (1,094) Charlottesville, VA |
| October 27 7:30 p.m., ACCN | No. 14 | No. 10 North Carolina | W 1–0 | 10–3–3 (5–2–1) | Klöckner Stadium (2,487) Charlottesville, VA |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| November 5 2:00 p.m., ACCN | (3) No. 9 | (6) No. 22 Syracuse Quarterfinals | T 1–1 (3–4 PKs) $^{2OT}$ | 10–3–4 | Klöckner Stadium (2,106) Charlottesville, VA |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| November 19 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (7) No. 11 | FIU Second Round | W 2–1 $^{2OT}$ | 11–3–4 | Klöckner Stadium (1,372) Charlottesville, VA |
| November 25 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (7) No. 11 | Indiana Third Round | L 0–1 | 11–4–4 | Klöckner Stadium (2,746) Charlottesville, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Leo Afonso | Pre-Season All-ACC Team | August 26 |
| Stephen Annor Gyamfi | ACC Offensive Player of the Week | September 19 |
| Joey Batrouni | ACC Defensive Player of the Week | October 3 |
| Mouhameth Thiam | ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week | October 17 |
| Stephen Annor Gyamfi | ACC Offensive Player of the Week | October 24 |
| Mouhameth Thiam | ACC Co-Midfielder of the Year | November 8 |
| Stephen Annor Gyamfi | Freshman of the Year | November 8 |
| Mouhameth Thiam | All-ACC First Team | November 8 |
| Stephen Annor Gyamfi | All-ACC First Team | November 8 |
| Brendan Lambe | All-ACC Freshman Team | November 8 |
| Stephen Annor Gyamfi | All-ACC Freshman Team | November 8 |

## 2024 MLS Super Draft

| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position |
| Aidan O'Connor | New York Red Bulls | 1 | 12 | DF |
| Stephen Annor Gyamfi | Houston Dynamo | 1 | 26 | FW |
| Leo Afonso | Inter Miami | 2 | 32 | FW |
Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| United Soccer | 15 | RV | — | — | RV | — | RV | — | 18 | 14 | 9 | 11 | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 13 |
| TopDrawer Soccer | — | — | — | — | 22 | — | — | — | 22 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 12 |