July 19, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The University of Virginia men's soccer team's 2005 recruiting class was ranked ninth in the country according to College Soccer News. UVa was one of two schools from the Commonwealth of Virginia and one of eight schools from the Atlantic Coast Conference ranked in College Soccer News' 2005 Top-40 Recruiting Classes.

Virginia's 2005 recruiting class was highlighted by the quartet of Bakary Soumare (New York, N.Y.), Antonio DiMaggio (River Edge, N.J.), Michael Giallombardo (Manalapan, N.J.) and Robert Rogers (Fairfax Station, Va.). Others newcomers to UVa are Milovan Milosevic (Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro), Yannick Reyering (Mettingen, Germany), Lee Sandwina (Santa Rosa, Calif.), James Taranto (Wyckoff, N.J.), Brandon Lawrence (Maplewood, N.J.) and Joseph Colaluca (Coventry, R.I.).

Indiana, the defending 2004 NCAA Champions, landed the top-ranked class in College Soccer News' recruiting class rankings. Virginia (#9) was one of five ACC schools ranked in the Top-10 with Maryland (#2), Duke (#3), North Carolina (#5) and Wake Forest (#8). Virginia Tech, ranked #28, was the only other school listed in the Top-40 rankings from Virginia.

The Cavaliers will begin the regular season portion of their 2005 season by traveling to Santa Barbara, California to compete in UCSB's Adidas Classic on September 2-4. Virginia will face UC Riverside on Friday, September 2nd before meeting 2004 NCAA Runner-Up UC Santa Barbara on Sunday, September 4th.

Here is a compete look at College Soccer News' 2005 Top-40 Recruiting Classes.

College Soccer News' 2005 Top-40 Recruiting Classes

1. Indiana
2. Maryland
3. Duke
4. UCLA
5. North Carolina
6. St. John's
7. SMU
8. Wake Forest
9. VIRGINIA
10. Michigan
11. UC Santa Barbara
12. South Florida
13. Boston University
14. California
15. Clemson
16. New Mexico
17. Boston College
18. Notre Dame
19. Connecticut
20. Oregon State
21. Washington
22. UAB
23. Portland
24. Loyola Marymount
25. Stanford
26. Ohio State
27. Saint Louis
28. Virginia Tech
29. American
30. Pennsylvania
31. UNC Greensboro
32. Santa Clara
33. Furman
34. Georgetown
35. Hartwick
36. South Carolina
37. Akron
38. Monmouth
39. San Diego State
40. Kentucky

-- UVa --