Previewing the 2023 Virginia Men's Soccer Roster

On a cold September evening in Syracuse, New York, the Cavaliers faced off against the No. 3 Syracuse Orange. The game remained a stalemate until the 85th minute, when captain Leo Afonso navigated through two defenders and, with his left foot, chipped the ball over the goalkeeper to lift the Cavaliers past Syracuse on the road.

Months later, in November, the two teams met again, with the match going to penalties after the match ended with two goals apiece in the ACC Semifinal. Syracuse defeated Virginia in penalties 5-3 before downing Clemson 2-0 in the ACC Championship.

In the NCAA Tournament, Virginia lost in the first round to Marshall on penalties, while Syracuse went on to win the National Championship. Virginia was one of only two teams to beat the Orange all year and nearly beat them twice.

With that said, it’s safe to say Virginia was a championship-caliber team in 2022 and now, rolling into 2023, has the roster to contend for its first national championship since 2014. Here’s a complete roster breakdown of Coach George Gelnovatch’s squad for the 2023 season, beginning with the forwards.

Forwards

The biggest name returning is senior Leo Afonso, who finished last season leading the team in points (18) and goals (7). The Virginia attack flowed through Afonso as the Cavaliers were 9-0-1 when Afonso recorded a point. Last year, Afonso partnered with Philip Horton at the top, who finished second in points on the team with 15.

With Horton now playing for FC Cincinnati 2 in MLS Next Pro, junior Kome Ubogu will look to fill the void and join alongside Afonso. Ubogu had an impressive season last year, finishing third in points with 12 and tied for second in goals with six. Additionally, all of those points came off the bench as Ubogu started zero games in 2022, something that should change in 2023.

Behind Afonso and Ubogu, Triton Beauvois and Michael Tsicoulias head into the season as the two expected to come off the bench and serve as sparks. The most interesting storyline for this group of forwards is the three incoming freshmen set to join the roster, headlined by Ignacio Alem and Cesar Cordova, who have trained at DC United and Houston Dynamo, respectively.

As for transfers, Virginia welcomes Elias Norris from George Washington, who scored seven goals last season and featured primarily as a wing-back for the Revolutionaries. Norris could feature if Gelnovatch opts for a formation with three center-backs.

Last season, the Cavaliers finished fifth in goals in the ACC, a number they will look to improve on in 2023.

Midfielders

Last season, Daniel Mangarov transferred to Virginia from UNC Greensboro and made an impact immediately as he buried the Cavaliers' first goal of the season in a 4-0 win against Rider. Mangarov went on to finish 4th in points with ten.

Alongside Mangarov, Axel Ahlander started all 18 games last season and expects to continue that starting streak. Ahlander finished with four points last season but also played a pivotal defensive role which does not show on the stats sheet.

Albin Gashi comes off a brilliant freshman year and looks to build on his four-point performance. Gashi broke into the lineup last season, starting 13 games and appearing in 16. After Gashi, Jeremy Verley looks to see lots of minutes this year. In 2023, Verley slowly broke into the starting lineup as he started both ACC tournament games for the Cavaliers.

As for transfers, the biggest name is Mouhameth Thiam, who joins the Cavaliers after being named an All-PAC-12 First Team selection in 2022 at Oregon State. Thiam tallied 14 points, five goals, and four assists last season. 

Defenders

For the last four years, the centerpiece of the Virginia defense was Andreas Ueland. The departure of the 2022 ACC Defensive Player of the Year leaves a void at the heart of the Cavaliers defense. Moritz Kappelsberger, who started all 19 games last year, also departed the squad.

To fill the gap, Paul Wiese, William Citron, and Aidan O’Connor look to step up for the Virginia defense. Wiese started all 19 games last season and finished with three assists.

As for the wings, Reese Miller looks to build off an impressive freshman season that saw him earn ACC All-Freshman honors. Miller finished with five points and was electric on the wing, using his speed to glide past defenders.

In net, Holden Brown will aim to be the starting goalie for the third year in a row. Brown earned All-ACC third-team honors and led the ACC in saves with 86 in 2021.

Despite losing a couple of leaders on defense, Virginia returns a plentiful amount of talent, which gives the Cavaliers hope to return to the top of the ACC.

Virginia will kick off the 2023 season on Thursday, August 24th at 6pm against Iona at Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

To stay up to date on all Virginia Cavaliers sports news, follow CavaliersNow on social media:

Facebook: @CavaliersNow
Twitter: @CavaliersNowFN