CARY, N.C. – Sunday’s College Cup final will pit two of the most storied programs in NCAA history against each other, with the University of Virginia and UCLA both looking to add another national championship to their already stocked trophy cases (12 pm ET, ESPNU)
The history-rich programs have combined for a total of 10 national titles, sent scores of players to the pros, put more than their fair share of alums in the World Cup and even gave MLS its two most legendary coaches.
Here's your rundown ahead of the biggest game in college soccer.
Third time the charm for Virginia?
Sunday’s matchup will mark the third time that UCLA and Virginia will meet in the College Cup. The Bruins came out on top in both previous occasions, beating the Cavaliers 2-0 in the 1997 national championship game and getting past the ‘Hoos 4-0 in the 2006 semifinal.
Both teams have had a somewhat bumpy road to this year’s title game, with second-seed UCLA needing overtime or penalty kicks to advance in three of their four NCAA tournament games and No. 16 Virginia struggling in the regular season before finding their form in the tournament following a late-season tactical switch.
Path to the pros
Both UCLA and Virginia have sent a slew of alumni to MLS and European leagues. UCLA has put more players in MLS than any other school, sending a total of 70 players to the league, with 22 former Bruins on MLS rosters in 2014. Virginia's put 43 players in the league, with five featuring on MLS rosters last season.
Alums from both schools played a role in the 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs, with Virginia grad Chris Tierney and UCLA product Kelyn Rowe helping the New England Revolution to their runner-up finish at MLS Cup and former Bruins Brian Rowe, Brian Perk and Chandler Hoffman lifting the trophy with the LA Galaxy.
Other notable active players to come out of the programs include Real Salt Lake’s Nick Rimando (UCLA) and Tony Beltran (UCLA), Sporting Kansas City’s Benny Feilhaber (UCLA) and Columbus Crew SC’s Tony Tchani (Virginia).
On the World stage
UCLA and Virginia have both had several alums play major roles for the US national team at various World Cups.
At least one UCLA product has been on every US World Cup roster since the 1990 tournament, with 15 Bruins earning a total of 25 World Cup roster spots for the US through the years. Rimando was the lone UCLA product on the American squad in 2014, while Feilhaber, Carlos Bocanegra and Jonathan Bornstein constituted the Bruin contingent at the 2010 tournament.
Six Virginia products have featured at World Cups for the US, with Tony Meola (1990, 1994, 2002), John Harkes (1990, 1994) and Claudio Reyna (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006) the most notable Cavaliers to play at the tournament.
Cradle of coaches
MLS’s two most legendary coaches cut their teeth at UCLA and Virginia, with Seattle head man Sigi Schmid managing UCLA from 1980-1999 and LA boss Bruce Arena leading Virginia from 1978-1996.
Both Schmid and Arena won national championships while at their respective schools, with Arena taking home five titles at Virginia and Schmid bringing three championships back to Westwood.
Both coaches remain connected to their former schools, with Arena serving as mentor to Virginia coach George Gelnovatch, who took over for Arena when he moved to D.C. United in 1996. UCLA head man Jorge Salcedo didn’t take over directly from Schmid, but he did play four years under him for the Bruins from 1990-1993.
Of course, Arena – who occasionally attends UCLA games and has a relationship with Salcedo, as well – got the best of Schmid this year, leading his Galaxy past Schmid’s Supporters’ Shield-winning Sounders in the Western Conference Championship series en route to their fifth MLS Cup.
One of them will nab further bragging rights on Sunday, when UCLA and Virginia will battle for college supremacy on ESPNU.
