Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 11, 1994 TAG: 9412140077
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DAVIDSON, N.C LENGTH: Medium
``The past three years, everybody said Virginia `should win,''' Cavaliers coach Bruce Arena said. ``This year people were saying Virginia `can't win.'''
Where Arena got his information isn't exactly clear. After all, the Cavaliers were ranked No.1 in the preseason. But a fourth consecutive Division I title wasn't - and still isn't - a foregone conclusion.
Not without Claudio Reyna, an Olympian and two-time college player of the year.
``I would have hated, if we had lost today, that we couldn't do it without Claudio,'' Arena said last Sunday after a 4-1 victory over James Madison in the quarterfinals.
``Basically, my attitude toward Claudio was, `Thank you. You contributed greatly to our program.' But we've got to move forward. We don't have a Claudio Reyna now, but I don't think we've concerned ourselves too much with that.''
Indeed, the Cavaliers (21-3-1) have reached the final four for the fifth time in six seasons and will meet Indiana (23-2) in the championship game at 1:30 p.m. today at Davidson College.
The Hoosiers are in their 10th final four and seeking to give coach Jerry Yeagley his fourth championship to go with titles in 1982, '83 and '88. Indiana routed UCLA 4-1 in Friday's semifinals.
Virginia rallied for a 2-1 semifinal victory over Rutgers that proved costly when sophomore midfielder Mike Fisher was cited for a delay of game with 1:38 remaining and received a yellow card.
Fisher remained in the game, but will not play today because he has received three yellow cards in UVa's seven postseason games, including the ACC Tournament.
``It would have been different if he had cleated someone,'' said freshman midfielder Billy Walsh, who scored the winning goal. ``Mike couldn't have felt any worse after the game. It's sad because he was our most consistent player.''
His spot will be filled by either David Fitzmaurice or Key Reid, strong defensively but unlikely to provide the offense that Fisher does. Also, Fisher has been handling all of UVa's corner kicks.
UVa has signed the Gatorade national player of the year in three of the last four seasons, but Reyna turned pro, Fisher has his one-game suspension and freshman Andriy Shapowal has a broken foot.
Moreover, UVa played all season without promising midfielder Mike Slivinski, declared academically ineligible by the school. As a freshman, Slivinski was the Cavaliers' second-leading scorer behind Reyna last season.
``There was a reason why we won in the past,'' senior A.J. Wood said. ``We had the best players at that particular point in time, but I don't feel disadvantaged in the least.''
Wood set a school record this year with 22 goals and joined with Fisher and Nate Friends to give UVa three 40-point scorers for the first time in school history. Wood and Friends were part of a 1991 recruiting class that included current starters Clint Peay and Tain Nix, as well as Reyna.
``We scored more goals than [any year] in the history of the program, so we're going to call Claudio and thank him for leaving,'' Arena said. ``He killed us for three years, right?
``We've done well. We've made up for the loss of Claudio.''
The Cavaliers won their fourth straight ACC championship and have extended their unbeaten streak in NCAA play to 26 games (24-0-2), but that doesn't remove any of the pressure today.
``After all these championships and all these goals, if we lose our last game, that's something we'll be remembered for,'' Wood said. ``That's something that obviously would be on our mind, at least for a while.''
Virginia vs. Indiana
NCAA Division I soccer final at Davidson, N.C., 1:30 p.m., today, HTS cable.
by CNB