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32 CAVALIER CORNER cavalier profile ASPARUH SLAVOV Second-Year • Soccer As a first-year, Asparuh Slavov played in 17 games and logged almost 1,500 minutes of game action in the midfield for Virginia's men's soccer team. Slavov earned ACC All-Freshman honors, played full sheets in 10 contests and scored his first collegiate goal during the 2021 campaign. "To come in as a freshman and play significant minutes was a great experience," Slavov said. "Contributing a lot of minutes means you're a part of a lot of the highs and lows the team experiences throughout the year, and we had a lot of them. At times in the season, I was tear-filled after an over- time loss, and other times I was singing my heart out in the locker room after a late-minute winner." Despite the tough season a year ago, Slavov un- derstands the history of UVA's program and what it really means to represent the Cavaliers on the pitch. "Representing UVA holds you to a higher standard than most," Slavov said. "To wear this badge, you need to keep in mind that it's a program with seven national titles and over 20 ACC titles, so the expecta- tion is to be the best every single year. We're coached by one of the most accomplished coaching staffs out there, and that motivates the whole team signifi- cantly and demands your best every single day." This spring the team focused on its chemistry and improving areas of the game that were weak spots in the fall. That commitment paid off when UVA beat Duke, North Carolina State and Wake Forest to finish third in the 2022 Spring Soccer Cup in April. "We have all really focused on bettering our- selves as individuals and as a team," Slavov said. "We have been pushing ourselves in all aspects with weight room work, fitness/endurance train- ing and soccer-specific training to be as ready as we can when the season hits. The college soccer season comes at you fast and we all want to make sure we're in the best shape possible." Slavov and the Cavaliers will look to showcase that hard work with 11 home games this fall. The Cavaliers also bring in a highly touted group of 16 newcomers in the fall that will mix well with the veterans returning. "With new players comes new opportunity and challenges, which will help both the returning guys and incoming guys motivate each other to be the best we can," Slavov said. "Everyone is excited for the fall camp as we now have a great mixture of players with experience and youth. The expecta- tions for this group are high and we're all moti- vated to put the past two seasons behind us and bring this program back to its winning ways." — Kristin Thurman • Photo by Matt Riley/ courtesy UVA