Virginia Tech Hokies men's soccer

Virginia Tech Hokies
men's soccer
2023 Virginia Tech Hokies men's soccer team
Founded1972
UniversityVirginia Tech
Head coachMike Brizendine (15th season)
ConferenceACC
LocationBlacksburg, Virginia
StadiumThompson Field
(Capacity: 2,500)
NicknameHokies, Fighting Gobblers
ColorsChicago maroon and burnt orange[1]
   
Home
Away
NCAA Tournament College Cup
2007
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
2007, 2016
NCAA Tournament Round of 16
2007, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020
NCAA Tournament appearances
2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
Conference Regular Season championships
1997

The Virginia Tech Hokies men's soccer team represents the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in all NCAA Division I men's college soccer competitions. The Hokies are members of the Atlantic Coast Conference and play their home matches at Sandra D. Thompson Field.

Historically, Virginia Tech has been one of the weaker outfits in the ACC, regularly finishing towards the bottom of the conference standings. The program's most successful era came briefly in the early to mid-2000s, where the five years, the Hokies earned three berths into the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. In 2003 and 2005, the Hokies made their first two appearances in the tournament, where they reached the second round of the tournament. In 2007, the team made a remarkable run to the College Cup, making their deepest run in tournament history. Since their 2007 run, they did not qualify for an NCAA Tournament bid again until 2016.

History[edit]

Oliver Weiss era, NCAA violations[edit]

The improved greatly with the arrival of head coach Oliver Weiss in 2000. Under Weiss, Tech has made four appearances in the NCAA Tournament (second round in 2003, 2005, first round in 2006, and the semifinals in 2007), the only four in school history. The team is currently ranked fourth in the nation under the Division I NSCAA/adidas National Rankings (last updated Tuesday, November 6, 2007). In the 2007 season, the team achieved its highest national ranking in school history when they reached #4 on October 23. The previous highest ranking was in the 2005 season at eighth in the country. Also, Tech set a new school record with a 15-game unbeaten streak (10-0-5 from September 2 to November 3) during the 2007 season.

The popularity for the team and game attendance has increased since the invitation to the Atlantic Coast Conference and with the 2006 FIFA World Cup. 2008 was by all accounts a rebuilding year, as the Hokies went winless (0-8) in ACC play.

In 2009, Coach Weiss resigned, days before the school self-reported recruiting violations to the NCAA in connection with Weiss allegedly fronting application fees for recruits.[2] Per NCAA rules, paying for a recruit's application fees, even if the recruit repays the loan, is not permitted. Mike Brizendine, a Weiss assistant and former head coach of Bridgewater College, was promoted to head coach to replace him.

Notable events[edit]

On September 11, 2011, the Hokies defeated the UNC Tar Heels 1–0 in extra time, making it one of the largest college soccer upsets of the 2011 season. Tech, at the time was unranked, while North Carolina was ranked first in the nation.[3]

Rivalries[edit]

Radford[edit]

A local derby between the two sides, Virginia Tech regularly plays against the Radford Highlanders men's soccer program.

Virginia[edit]

Virginia Tech's major rival in soccer is the Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer program. The two sides have a longstanding rivalry across all sports which translates over to soccer. Generally, matches between the two sides attract larger than average crowds.[4] In the 2005–06 and 2006-07 school years, the program-wide rivalry was called the Commonwealth Challenge. A renewed rivalry competition began for the 2014–15 season, called the "Commonwealth Clash."

Historically, Virginia has dominated the rivalry, leading the all-time series 34-5-7.

Roster[edit]

As of January 11, 2024[5]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK United States USA Connor Jordan-Hyde
2 DF United States USA Isaiah Byrd
3 DF Norway NOR Oskar Haugli
4 DF Brazil BRA Welnilton da Silva
5 DF United States USA Zayyan Ahmed
6 MF Denmark DEN Marco Vesterholm
7 FW United States USA Declan Quill
8 MF Ghana GHA Mayola Kinyua
9 MF Japan JPN Misei Yoshizawa
10 FW Costa Rica CRC Marcos Escoe
11 FW Denmark DEN Oliver Roche
12 MF United States USA Ben Fisher
13 MF United States USA Carter Hensley
14 DF United States USA Grant Howard
15 FW United States USA Andy Sullins
16 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Conor Pugh
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF United States USA Ethan Hackenberg
18 MF United States USA Willie Cardona
19 MF United States USA Theo Drennan
20 MF United States USA Ethan Ballek
21 DF United States USA Noe Uwimana
22 DF United States USA Mason McClendon
23 DF Cyprus CYP Sergios Feneridis
24 FW United States USA Ethan Czaporowski
25 GK United States USA Zach Glesius
26 DF United States USA Harry Neill
27 GK United States USA Timi Adams
29 FW United States USA Nick Laffey
31 MF United States USA Harrison Krieg
32 DF United States USA Carsten Bay
33 DF United States USA Jordan Black

Seasons[edit]

Statistics overview
Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Virginia Tech (Independent) (1972–1994)
1972 George Snead 2–4–3
1973 George Snead 4–3–3
1974 Jerry Cheynet 5–6–0
1975 Jerry Cheynet 4–5–1
1976 Jerry Cheynet 4–6–1
1977 Jerry Cheynet 7–4–1
1978 Jerry Cheynet 9–4–2
1979 Jerry Cheynet 8–6–1
1980 Jerry Cheynet 8–5–1
1981 Jerry Cheynet 10–5–1
1982 Jerry Cheynet 5–10–0
1983 Jerry Cheynet 1–11–3
1984 Jerry Cheynet 8–8–2
1985 Jerry Cheynet 10–7–1
1986 Jerry Cheynet 7–9–2
1987 Jerry Cheynet 9–8–3
1988 Jerry Cheynet 11–9–0
1989 Jerry Cheynet 10–10–1
1990 Jerry Cheynet 10–10–1
1991 Jerry Cheynet 10–8–3
1992 Jerry Cheynet 10–7–2
1993 Jerry Cheynet 10–8–1
1994 Jerry Cheynet 7–12–0
Independent (1972–1994) Total: 193–165–33
Virginia Tech (Atlantic 10) (1995–1999)
1995 Jerry Cheynet 8–10–2 6–3–2 T–3rd A10 Semifinal
1996 Jerry Cheynet 12–8–0 7–4–0 T–4th A10 Semifinal
1997 Jerry Cheynet 14–5–1 8–2–1 1st A10 Semifinal
1998 Jerry Cheynet 11–9–1 7–3–1 T–3rd A10 Final
1999 Jerry Cheynet 11–8–0 7–4–0 T–3rd
A10 Total: 56–40–4 35–16–4
Virginia Tech (Independent) (2000–2000)
2000 Jerry Cheynet 8–9–2
Independent (2000) Total: 8–9–2
Virginia Tech (Big East) (2001–2003)
2001 Jerry Cheynet 11–6–2 4–4–2 8th Big East Quarterfinal
2002 Oliver Weiss 10–7–1 5–5–0 9th
2003 Oliver Weiss 14–5–3 7–3–0 2nd Big East Quarterfinal
NCAA Second Round
Big East Total: 35–18–6 16–12–2
Virginia Tech (ACC) (2004–present)
2004 Oliver Weiss 9–10–1 2–5–0 8th ACC Quarterfinal
2005 Oliver Weiss 10–5–5 3–2–3 4th ACC Quarterfinal
NCAA Second Round
2006 Oliver Weiss 11–8–1 2–5–1 8th ACC First Round
NCAA First Round
2007 Oliver Weiss 14–4–5 3–1–4 4th ACC Semifinal
NCAA College Cup
2008 Oliver Weiss 5–13–1 0–8–0 9th ACC First Round
2009 Mike Brizendine 5–12–0 2–6–0 8th ACC First Round
2010 Mike Brizendine 5–13–1 1–6–1 9th
2011 Mike Brizendine 4–13–2 1–6–1 9th ACC First Round
2012 Mike Brizendine 7–10–3 0–7–1 9th ACC Quarterfinal
2013 Mike Brizendine 4–8–5 1–5–5 11th
2014 Mike Brizendine 7–8–2 2–5–1 9th ACC First Round
2015 Mike Brizendine 5–9–3 0–5–3 11th
2016 Mike Brizendine 13–5–4 3–4–2 9th ACC First Round
NCAA Quarterfinal
2017 Mike Brizendine 10–10–0 3–5–0 9th NCAA Second Round
2018 Mike Brizendine 11–7–3 3–4–1 7th NCAA Third Round
2019 Mike Brizendine 10–6–3 2–4–2 11th NCAA Third Round
2020 Mike Brizendine 7–6–4 5–5–2 2nd (North) NCAA Third Round
2021 Mike Brizendine 11–5–4 3–4–1 5th (Coastal) NCAA Second Round
2022 Mike Brizendine 3–14–1 0–8–0 6th (Coastal)
2023 Mike Brizendine 4–9–4 2–5–1 6th (Coastal)
ACC Total: 161–175–52 38–100–29
Total: 436–348–95

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Source:[6]

  • A10 Standings source[7]
  • ACC Standings source[8]
  • Big East Standings source[9]

Notable alumni[edit]

Current Professional Players[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Virginia Tech University Trademarks". Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  2. ^ Berman, Mark (2009-08-25). "Yellow card for Tech as university reports violations to NCAA". The Roanoke Times.
  3. ^ "Virginia Tech men top No. 1 UNC in soccer". Charlotte Observer. September 11, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
  4. ^ "Commonwealth Challenge". hokiesports.com.
  5. ^ "2023 Men's Soccer Roster". hokiesports.com. Virginia Tech Athletics. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  6. ^ "2013 Virginia Tech Men's Soccer History and Record Book" (PDF). Virginia Tech Athletics. HokieSports.com. pp. 4–6.
  7. ^ "A10 Men's Soccer Record Book" (PDF). Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Soccer. Atlantic10.com. pp. 11–12. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  8. ^ "ACC All-Time Men's Soccer Standings" (PDF). Raycom Sports. Raycomsports.com. pp. 73–76. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  9. ^ "All-Time BIG EAST Men's Soccer Standings" (PDF). Big East. GRFX.cstv.com. p. 2.

External links[edit]