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cavalier sports 12 CAVALIER CORNER PHOTO COURTESY UVA wahoographic MR. 300: BY RYAN TICE T here aren't many who have been around the Virginia men's soccer pro- gram more than current head coach George Gelnovatch. When the 22nd- year head coach directed the Cavaliers' season-opening 3-2 win over Villanova in double-overtime Aug. 25, he surpassed predecessor Bruce Arena to claim the program's record for all-time victories with his 296th triumph. He later reached 300 wins with a 2-0 victory for the Cavaliers over Virginia Tech Sept. 15. That made the No. 9 Cavs 5-0-1 (1-0-1 ACC) on the year and extended their unbeaten streak against the in-state rival to 13 straight matches. It's just the latest accomplishment recorded under the watch of Gelnovatch, the former first-team All-American and 1987 graduate who played under Arena and then served as an assistant for his former head coach. Gelnovatch has led two national championship squads — 2009 and 2014 — and was also involved with the other five crowns in program history as an assistant coach. Here are some of the other feats of the longest-tenured head coach in program history: 1 Coach in NCAA history that has led a men's soccer team to 20 straight NCAA Tournaments — Gelnovatch, who will look to extend his streak to 22 years this season (between Gelnovatch and Arena, UVA has been to a national-best 36 straight tourna- ments). Only eight coaches (four active) have led 20 men's squads to the tournament. 5th Is where Gelnovatch stands on UVA's career lists for points (118) and goals scored (49). He is still tied for the program record for goals by a first-year (16). 8 Times with Gelnovatch on staff Virginia has had a student-athlete named the national player of the year — Tony Meola won the Hermann Trophy in the coach's first year on staff in 1989, while Clau- dio Reyna was named the country's best by the Missouri Athletic Club in 1992 and 1993, A.J. Wood was voted the nation's best player by the coaches in 1994, Mike Fisher won the Her- mann in 1995 and 1996, Ben Olsen was given the No. 1 spot by Soccer America and Soccer News the following year, and Alecko Eskandarian won college soccer's Heisman Trophy in 2002. 45 Players with Gelnovatch as their head coach that have gone on to play professional soccer, including 23 MLS Draft picks and nine more MLS Supplemental Draft choices. Jason Moore (1999) and Eskan- darian (2003) both went No. 1 to lead the 10 first-round picks that have been produced during the coach's tenure. 505 Of Virginia's 754 wins — the sixth-most in college soccer his- tory through Sept. 18 — have come with Gelnovatch on the sidelines. The Cavaliers went 67-14-4 with him starring on the pitch, 138-18-14 with him as an assistant and 300-121-48 with the former standout at the helm. George Gelnovatch Has Coached More Men's Soccer Wins Than Anybody In School History