Report from Hoo-Country

We loaded up the van and headed down the road to Charlottesville last Friday night for the tilt between the Maryland and Virginia.

The CR did his best to ruin the match by issuing, well, a Straight Red Hat-Trick. First to go was a Maryland player who was sent of for a cynical tackle that took the man as well as the ball. It merited a warning at most. Then some minutes later came a make-up call against a Virginia midfielder who pushed a Maryland player. Then another Virginia player is sent off for I have no idea what.

All that aside, Maryland was clearly and to a man the better team, and came out on top of the score sheet by a 2-1 margin.

This is the weakest UVA team I have seen in a long time. It seems George Gelnovatch's recruiting results are waning. In recent years you would see players on the roster from all over the country -- top players from soccer hotbeds such as New York, North New Jersey areas, Texas, Florida, and top talent from right here in Virginia. Now the roster is heavily weighted with players from Virginia. Virginia produces many good players, but not many great players. To get a roster full of great plyers, you have to cast a wide net. It seems that net was light going in to this year.