University of Virginia Library

Gametime 3 P.M.

Booters Tackle Gobblers

By Tom Sansonetti

So where does the
high-riding,undefeated Cavalier
soccer team go from here?
Wembley Stadium? Not quite, says
Coach Gordon Burris.

Coach Burris is currently
concerned with today's crucial final
game with Virginia Tech on the
Plains of University Hall. The three
o'clock confrontation is "one game
for the world" according to the
typically worried Virginia mentor.

There are three big reasons why
there should be an extra-large
turnout this afternoon in support
of the Big Eleven. The first
concerns the fact that an
undefeated season (Virginia is now
8-0-1) is on the line. Needless to
say, that would be quite a
turnabout from last year's 4-5-1
season.

Secondly, an invitation to the
state championships is in the offing.
But the most important item in each
boy's mind today is that the
possibility for an NCAA tourney
bid would be very strong if Virginia
emerges victorious. The bid would
be the first for a Virginia team in
any sport since the Cavaliers joined
the NCAA many moons ago.

With so much at stake it is no
wonder that Coach Burris believes
that a large partisan crowd is
imperative. As he understates the
situation, "The boys enjoy playing
before a crowd, and with all of that
pressure on us against Tech, it sure
would be nice if..."

As far as the NCAA tournament
is concerned, there are four regional
playoffs each containing four
teams. The sixteen squads are
selected in their respective regions
by the NCAA Soccer Selection
Committee. Currently there are five
undefeated teams in the South,
Virginia, Maryland, Navy, Campbell
College, and the University of
South Florida (?).

The invitation decision will rest
on the committee's feelings
regarding final season records and
quality of competition faced by the
team's applying. Coach Burris has
definitely handed in a form for his
"Kiddie Korps" as his squad was
tabbed by the University of
Maryland student newspaper, The
Diamondback. It is reported that
the staff of that tabloid has
recently acquired a strong affinity
for crow.

If Virginia has nine marks in the
win column by the time the Big
Eye goes down this evening, word
will come from the selection people
in two weeks.

The fowl from Blacksburg are an
unknown quantity. The Gobblers
supposedly well-balanced with no
particular superstar. Martin
Browne, an Englishman, has been
flown in at great expense to handle
the coaching chores.

"We should be the better team
on the field," Burris concluded,
"but we'll have to keep putting the
ball in the net. This is not time for
a letdown.