So I thought Bell deserves his own thread instead of being chucked in with the other Kiwis at US College.
First some stats from his time so far at Uni:
2017: Started all 21 games as a true freshman (one of six UVA field players to start all 21 games). Played every minute of 15 of the 21 games on the season and got two goals and an assist.
2018: One of only two Cavaliers to play in every minute of the season's 17 matches, was second in the team with five assists (1 goal)
2019: Bell has since started 55-straight games since joining the University. 2019 ACC Midfielder of the Year and a First Team All-ACC honoree.
So before he left for All Whites duty, Bell help the team win their division (Coastal) of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), which is their regular season. They then play an ACC tournament to decides the conference champion but instead of 1st of one division playing 1st of the other, all 12 teams play (there is six in each div) and they are ranked. Virginia entered the tournament ranked 2nd behind Clemson, who won the other division (Atlantic), with the top four teams getting a bye to the second round. Bell played the first game of the tournament against Syracuse, which they won 2-1 before leaving for the All Whites.
While he was away, the Cavaliers capture their 16th ACC Championship and first since 2009 by beating Clemson in the final of the tournament 3-1. The victory was the teams 17th of the season, their first season of 17+ wins since 2009 which as meantion was also the last time they won the ACC Tournament.
Because of this, they now enter the NCAA Division I National tournament ranked 1st place, Clemson still go to the tournament ranked 2nd. To give you an idea of how strong ACC is, they have 10 teams going to the tournament, the next best is the Big Ten and Big East with 4 teams each.
With their number 1 rank, again the Cavaliers have a bye in the first round with those games being November 21 in the States. The Cavaliers will be playing the winner at home on the 24th November, between either James Madison, who they played and won 1-0 back on the 15th October. Or they will met Campbell University, with the awesome names for their sports teams, the Campbell Fighting Camels and Lady Camels.
Should be interesting to follow, you can normally catch streams of the games online and the Cavaliers will be hoping for their eigth National title and first since 2014.