Virginia Men’s Soccer Announces Recruiting Class

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA  – Virginia head coach George Gelnovatch announced the signing of Eric Bird, Matt Brown, Spencer LaCivita, Kyle McCord, Calvin Rezende, Conner Rezende, Grant Silvester, Chris Somerville, Kyler Sullivan and Ryan Zinkhan to National Letters of Intent to play soccer for the Cavaliers beginning in the fall of 2011.

“We worked extremely hard in the recruiting process with this group of signees,” Gelnovatch said. “It is one of the biggest classes that we have signed. The thing that makes this class special is the fact that we have signed quality players for every position on the field from the goalkeeper to center backs, wide backs, center midfielders, wide midfielders and forwards. We are very excited to get started with this group. They will have a big impact on our team this fall and for the future.”

Eric Bird (Virginia Beach, Va. / Frank W. Cox High School), a 5-10 midfielder, was a 2010 all-state, all-district and all-Tidewater selection. Frank W. Cox won the 2009 and 2010 VHSL State Championships and the regional championship from 2008-2010. Bird played for the Region I Olympic Development Program (ODP) pool and team from 2007-2011. His Virginia ’93 state team was the Region I ODP Champion in 2008. Bird played for Beach FC – Fire – which was Virginia State Cup Champions in 2005, 2006 and 2010.

Matt Brown (Charlotte, N.C. / South Mecklenburg High School), a 6-1 defender, played for Charlotte Soccer Academy and was a member of the Region III ODP team. A captain of the North Carolina ODP team, Brown trained with Reading FC U18 Academy in Reading, England, and played club soccer for Charlotte United Futbol Club. He is ranked No. 26 in the TopDrawerSoccer 2011 National Top 100. Brown was a four-year starter, two-year captain and two-time team MVP for South Mecklenburg High School, where he was also an all-conference, all-region and all-state selection. Brown was named to the NSCAA All-South squad and was the 2010 Southwestern Conference Player of the Year. He also earned Charlotte All-Observer first team honors.

Spencer LaCivita (Raleigh, N.C. / Millbrook High School), a 6-1 goalkeeper, is ranked as the No. 3 goalkeeper (2011) by TopDrawerSoccer, the 24th-ranked player overall and the No. 1 goalkeeper in the South Atlantic region. He was also ranked the No. 2 goalkeeper in the country (2011) by ESPN Rise. A 2010 NSCAA All-American, LaCivita was a four-year starter and all-state, all-region and all-conference selection for Millbrook. He captained the U15/16 CASL Chelsea FC Academy team that was a national finalist and posted 19 shutouts. LaCivita was a member of the Under-17 National Team residency camp (2008) and the Under-15 National Team (2008).

Kyle McCord (Chester Springs, Pa. / Haverford High School), a 6-4 midfielder, was a starter for the New York Red Bulls Academy team and a varsity starter in high school from 2009-2011. His team was State Cup Champions in 2004, 2006 and 2007, Region I finalists in 2006, Region I semifinalists in 2007 and Nike Manchester United Premier Cup finalists. McCord was invited to the Academy Select Training Camp twice and he played EPYSA ODP for three years.

Calvin Rezende (Davie, Fla. / University School at Nova Southeastern University), a 5-8 midfielder, was a varsity starter and earned Broward County all-star honors from 2007-2010 from the Miami Herald. Rezende was a starting outside midfielder for Weston FC Academy in 2009-10 and competed with the select team during the spring showcase in Bradenton, Fla. He played for Sunrise Elite from 2006-08 and was a member of the Super Y-League National Finals All-Star Team in 2008. Rezende competed with the Under-15 National Team at Nike Friendlies in 2007. His twin brother, Conner, also signed an NLI to play soccer for UVa.

Conner Rezende (Davie, Fla. / University School at Nova Southeastern University), a 5-8 midfielder, was a varsity starter and earned Broward County all-star honors from 2007-2010 from the Miami Herald. Rezende was a starting outside midfielder for Weston FC Academy in 2009-10 and competed with the select team during the spring showcase in Bradenton, Fla. Rezende competed with the Under-15 National Team at Nike Friendlies in 2007. His twin brother, Calvin, also signed an NLI to play soccer for UVa.

Grant Silvester (Sacramento, Calif. / Rio Americano), a 6-0 defender, competed at the Under-18 Men’s National Team Training Camp in 2010. He was a member of the US Soccer Development Academy 2010 Western Conference Starting XI and the 2010 Development Academy Select Team. For the California Development Academy, Silvester was the team captain and was a member of the Cal North ODP team for three years. While at Rio Americano High School, he was team captain and selected MVP. Silvester finished the 2010 season with 24 goals and 16 assists en route to being named the Capital Athletic League’s Most Valuable Offensive Player.

Chris Somerville (West Chester, Pa. / Unionville High School), a 5-9 forward, was a four-year varsity starter and captain of his high school team in 2010. Somerville was a major factor in the team’s two league titles and one district title in the past two seasons. A long time FC Delco player, Somerville competed with the Baltimore Bays Chelsea Club on the Under-18 Academy Team. In 2010, Somerville was selected to play for the Philadelphia Union’s Under-17 Team and played in the 2010 MLS SumCup in Houston, Texas. He is a National Pool Player with call-ups with the Under-15 and Under-18 teams.

Kyler Sullivan (Stafford, Va. / North Stafford High School), a 5-8 defender/midfielder, was a captain, MVP and all-district, all-region, all-area and all-met selection for North Stafford. He was a ODP National Semifinalist (VA ’03 team) in 2009 as well was a member of the Region I ODP team that won the region championship in 2008. He captained the Virginia State ODP team from 2007-09. Sullivan played for the Arlington Venom on the club level.

Ryan Zinkhan (Fredericksburg, Va. / Riverbend High School), a 5-9 forward, was the 2010 Gatorade Player of the Year in Virginia in addition to being the All-Metro Area Player of the Year and first team all-metro. He earned first team all-district honors from 2007-10, was the Free-Lance Star Player of the Year in 2010 and a member of that newspaper’s all-area team from 2008-10. Zinkhan was a member of the U.S. Academy Select Team from 2009-10 and competed in the Under-17 and Under-18 National Camps from 2009-10.