By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Reese Miller picked up the nickname Bones after joining the University of Virginia men’s soccer team this summer, and it’s easy to see why. Still, don’t be deceived by No. 19’s slender frame.
“For a slight guy he’s feisty and he tackles hard,” UVA head coach George Gelnovatch said.
A 6-foot, 150-pound freshman from Houston, Miller is expected to make his 10th start Friday when No. 21 Virginia (7-4 overall, 3-1 ACC) meets No. 2 Duke (8-0-2, 3-0-1) in a 7 p.m. match at Klöckner Stadium. He’s averaging about 60 minutes per game at left wingback, a defensive position that allows him to also use his offensive skills.
“He’s got a good engine, he can get up and down in the attacking third, he can run by you, he can take you on,” Gelnovatch said. “I love [defenders] with an attacking background.”
The left-footed Miller had several scoring opportunities early in the season but wasn’t able to finish them. He finally broke through Sept. 30 against ACC rival Pitt. Passes from forwards Phil Horton and Leo Afonso set up Miller’s first college goal, a strike that put the Wahoos up 2-1 on the No. 10 Panthers in the 61st minute. The final was 3-1 as UVA recorded a second straight road win over a top-10 opponent.
“It was kind of like a weight off my shoulders,” Miller said. “I feel like I’ve been working really hard for that goal. I had a lot of chances before that just didn’t quite come off, and for one to finally come off, especially in a big game like Pitt, it felt amazing. It felt really good. just to hear the silence of the crowd when I scored, just knowing that I put the dagger into the game.”
Miller, who came up through the academy program of Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo, committed to UVA in January 2021. At the time, Gelnovatch didn’t expect him to make a major impact as a freshman, but Miller arrived in Charlottesville a polished player. He’d benefited from playing with the Dynamo 2, Houston’s entry in the MLS NEXT Pro league, which launched this year.
“His readiness was ahead of schedule,” Gelnovatch said, “which was a little bit of a surprise.”
Miller’s mother introduced him to soccer when he was a toddler, but he didn’t limit himself to one sport as a boy.
“I was a very energetic child,” Miller said. “I played flag football at lot with my friends. I did basketball, I did baseball, I did probably every…