Chris Fehrle’s return to Syracuse altered his approach

As soon as Chris Fehrle slipped on a Syracuse uniform, his soccer skills were mature beyond their years. The trouble was it took Fehrle’s demeanor four years and 493 miles to catch up.

In his first two seasons with the Syracuse men’s soccer team, Fehrle earned a reputation as one of the Big East’s best defenders. Along with it, SU head coach Dean Foti said Fehrle developed a reputation for being cocky.

Some insist that cocky is too strong an adjective, and confident and hot-headed fit better. Four years of maturation and a bench-warming experience at Virginia later, Fehrle’s morphed from a brash youngster into one of SU’s leaders.

After transferring to Virginia for the 2001 season, Fehrle transferred back to SU and sat out last fall. He should be a starter for the Orangemen in the fall.

“He’s more humble now,” senior Ryan Hall said. “He doesn’t take as much for granted.”

It’s easy to see why Fehrle could be construed as cocky. His soccer upbringing is purebred. He was a member of the U.S. Olympic Development Program and a two-time Parade All-American. He was a member of a prestigious club team, and in his freshman year, Fehrle was the only unanimous selection to the Big East All-Rookie Team.

Before Fehrle began his freshman year at SU, in 1999, teammates said he needed to be a vocal leader on defense.

Fehrle, though, listened too well.

“Some people took it as arrogance,” said John Andrade, a sophomore in 1999. “He’d say things, and people would take it the wrong way.”

While Fehrle’s position demanded he take an active role in communication, older Orangemen bristled at the way Fehrle gave commands.

“It’s one of those things where he’s a freshman, and freshmen aren’t supposed to come in and be that vocal,” senior defender Eric Chapman said. “It’s just something you don’t do your first year.”

During a 3-0 loss to Notre Dame on Sept. 16, 2000, Syracuse trailed by three goals with 20 minutes left. With Syracuse’s offense dominating, Fehrle felt the Orangemen could win until then-freshman Kirk Johnson missed an open goal.

“The entire way down the field, Chris just chewed him out,” Hall said.

Fehrle, who had known Johnson for about six years, said he spent the entire year trying to spur on the talented attacker with verbal barbs.

“I’ll take the blame for that,” Fehrle said of the strained relationship with his now close friend. “Kirk thought I was always yelling at him the whole time. Maybe I was.”

While Fehrle aimed to help Johnson reach his potential, his methods didn’t sit well with his teammates.

The day after the Notre Dame game, which SU lost, 3-0, seniors Mario Cristofori and Sean Boyle held a team meeting at their apartment. They discussed the incident in generalities: Certain players were being too negative, certain players’ attitudes weren’t helping the team.

Although no names were used, Fehrle knew the comments were leveled at him.

“I remember that meeting vividly,” Fehrle said. “I just lost it. I didn’t want to be known as the team that had all the talent and wasted it.”

Although Syracuse sputtered to an 8-9-2 record, barely qualifying for the Big East tournament, Fehrle’s talent was obvious.

Throughout the season, friends and former teammates told him that attending an ACC school would enable him to reach his professional-soccer ambitions. (Last year, 10 of Soccer America Magazine’s top 25 recruits went to ACC schools.)

The day Fehrle returned from Winter Break, he began telling teammates that he planned on transferring to Virginia. Chapman, Hall and Chris Aloisi, then sophomores, expressed disappointment but understood. Most of the team reacted the same way.

“You get angry at certain points,” Hall said. “I’m sure everybody was a little angry. At the same time, we understood his goals and tried to be supportive. But it’s hard not to be angry.”

Others felt Fehrle’s brash attitude had jumped another notch. Not only was he pulling rank on the team. Now, he thought he was too good for it.

“Some people took it as him saying, ‘I’m too good for this program,’ ” Chapman said.

The rest of the year, the time spent in Chapman, Hall and Fehrle’s apartment was difficult. Fehrle withdrew from his friends to make his switch easier emotionally.

“You know those hung-over Saturday mornings?” Chapman said. “Those were pretty tense. We couldn’t really talk about our team because, what did he care? And we didn’t want to talk about Virginia.”

When Fehrle left for Virginia, he thought he’d receive ample playing time. Instead, by the end of summer scrimmages, Fehrle realized time would be scarce.

Fehrle said Virginia head coach George Gelnovatch’s loyalty to UVa’s veteran players, along with Gelnovatch’s biased opinion of the quality of Big East players, contributed to Fehrle’s lack of playing time.

Fehrle finally got on the field for Virginia’s final six games, starting three, after one of UVa’s starters was hurt.

“When they saw me, it was kind of like, ‘Oh, look, he really can play,’ ” Fehrle said. “Fans, parents, even coaches were like that.”

Gelnovatch had reasons for his decision. The Cavaliers had one of the nation’s best defenses, finishing 2001 with 11 shutouts, and held conference opponents scoreless during the regular season.

“I think it was a step up for him as far as the conference went and the players on the team went,” Gelnovatch said. “He clearly wasn’t one of the four best players, and I don’t substitute much on defense. It was bad timing. If I had him this year, he’d probably start for us.”