After A Tough 2022, Virginia Tech Men’s Soccer Poised To Bounce Back

After its worst season in its ACC history, Virginia Tech men’s soccer is determined to bounce back in 2023. That’s easy to pick up from the confident wave of optimism and positivity around the program.

No one is happy with the way 2022 played out. A 3-14-1 record. Nine losses decided by one goal. Just 13 goals scored to 29 conceded. But head coach Mike Brizendine knows improvement is on the horizon.

“We’ll be better this year,” Brizendine told Tech Sideline in mid-August. “If we can get some things going our way, we’ll be in the mix for the [NCAA] tournament. As we look down the road for the future, I think it’s super bright, it’s just how quickly we can get back on the horse.”

Roster turnover played a big role in the Hokies’ struggles last season. They had an experienced bunch in 2021, one that featured 437 appearances, 41 goals and 32 assists for Virginia Tech. It featured veterans like Sivert Haugli, Camron Lennon and Jacob Labovitz, and some players had been around since 2017.

Their departures left a gap, specifically in goalscoring.

That’s why Tech’s streak of six straight NCAA tournaments — with four Sweet Sixteen appearances — came to an end. There was no direct replacement for Labovitz, who netted nine goals in both 2020 and 2021. He had picked up the scoring baton from Kristo Strickler, who did the same from Marcelo Acuna before that.

Brizendine knew the Hokies were positioned for a step back last season, but no one could’ve predicted that much of a drop-off. A year removed from making an NCAA tournament run and a successful season that included beating the No. 1 team in the country (Marshall), they dropped like an anchor.

Talent wasn’t a problem — Tech had impactful newcomers in midfielder Misei Yoshizawa, an ACC All-Freshman Team performer, and defender Grant Howard. Rather, it lacked experience. Though veterans like outside back Kyle McDowell, center back Welnilton Da Silva Jr., winger Nick Blacklock and center midfielder Mayola Kinyua led the group, there wasn’t the same core that had experienced so much recent success.

“Last season, we knew that we would take a dip,” Brizendine said. “I didn’t realize how big of a dip it may be. Because the year before, between graduation and people signing pro, and we had one transfer, that was 16 kids that were previously on our roster. That’s big turnover on a 29-man roster. …

“I was very comfortable with that old group. I had been with those guys for a long time, some of them, especially with COVID, five years. So I knew what they liked, how they liked to operate, how to relate to them, because each individual is different. I took it for granted.”

Last season wasn’t all for naught, though. As the head man put it, it’s part of the learning curve. And it gave him, along with his players and staff members, some new perspective. Da Silva Jr., Tech’s third-year captain and center back, said it forced him to grow.

“It was a season for me to learn how to be resilient and tough,” Da Silva Jr., who played in 11 of Tech’s 18 games last year, said. “I was a captain leading the boys, and it was rough for me to lead the boys from the bench when I wasn’t playing. And that gave me a lot of experience and belief for this upcoming season.”

The team’s high note in 2022 came in the ACC tournament on Nov. 2. The lowest seed in the event with not much left to play for, the Hokies traveled to Louisville rallied against the No. 11 Cardinals, pulling off the 2-1 upset. Yoshizawa had two assists, including the game-winner to Daniel Starr in the 55th minute.

𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗕𝗢𝗬 ⭐️

55' | 2H | 🦃 2 – 0 🔴 pic.twitter.com/iSt0eyfZeq

— Virginia Tech Men’s Soccer (@HokiesMSoccer) November 2, 2022

“That gave us a little hope actually,” Howard said. “It made us feel like, ‘Yeah, we can do this,’ that we’re still a good team at the end of the day. We had some unfortunate results, but at the end of the day, we can still put together a win.”

“I think that it solidified what we were kind of preaching to them all season,” Brizendine said of the Louisville victory. “Like, ‘Look, there’s a good group here, we’ve got to come along and we’ve got to score some goals. And obviously, we scored some goals, we defended out real well, and I think that carried over into the spring.”

That’s why there’s positivity around the group heading into the fall. The vibes are high from a productive spring, and a team Costa Rica trip in May only helped team bonding. 

A number of contributors are back, from Da Silva Jr., Howard and Yoshizawa to jack-of-all trades junior Carter Hensley and forwards Declan Quill and Conor Pugh. There’s a familiar face in goal, too, in sixth-year senior Connor Jordan-Hyde. And the Hokies have a few new additions, including center midfielder Marco Vesterholm, who arrived from Elon.

Brizendine raved about the Dane — “If you looked at his soccer report card, it’s all A’s and B’s,” he said — and expects him to fit in very well next to Kinyua in the center of the park. Vesterholm had 40 appearances, one goal and three assists in his time with the Phoenix.

“Everything he does is top notch,” Brizendine said. “He’s a coach’s dream. He takes care of his body, he manages the group when we’re down, he’s got an engine. I could go on and on about the kid. He’s had the best preseason up to this point.”

Along with Vesterholm, the Hokies added two transfers from Virginia in the offseason: midfielder Isaiah Byrd and forward Andy Sullins. They combined for 42 appearances, one goal and three assists with the Cavaliers. Midfielder Ethan Hackenberg, who transferred from Coastal Carolina, could also provide a boost.

Tactically, Virginia Tech found success in playing five in the back last season, despite the results. Brizendine expects to stick with that formation this year, especially after the group performed well in that system in the spring.

Brazilian sophomore Theo Drennan, who redshirted in 2022, is poised to step into the third center back role alongside Da Silva Jr. and Howard. And with the loss of McDowell at left back, there’s a possibility Hensley, the former North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year, slides into that spot.

“I’m a big Carter Hensley fan, he can literally play anywhere,” Brizendine said. “At left wing back, he did very well this spring, surprisingly. I can [also] see him playing a bunch of minutes in the middle for us because we’re thin there and he’s got the engine to do it.”

With Vesterholm and Kinyua, Tech’s most veteran player with 69 career appearances, in the middle of the pitch, the questions circle back to the attack. That’s where Yoshizawa will have a role, while Sullins, sophomore Ethan Ballek and freshmen Oliver Roche (Denmark), Marcos Escoe (Costa Rica) and Nick Laffey — the reigning D.C. Gatorade Player of the Year — will look to contribute up top with Quill and Pugh.

“Maybe we overcorrected,” Brizendine. “We went from not being able to score to now we have a ton of goal-scoring [options]. I think we need to balance it because all of those names are in the mix, and that’s not even all of them.”

There’s no shortage of talent for the Hokies as they grow closer to their season-opener on Aug. 24 in Harrisonburg vs. UCLA. They learned from taking their lumps in 2022 and are better for it. They’re energized, more motivated, have a chip on their shoulder and are ready to prove people wrong and make it back to the postseason.

“We want to make the [NCAA] tournament this year,” Howard said. “That’s big for us. We don’t want to be coming home for Thanksgiving. …

“I think we can go really far with this team. Just the energy with the group right now, everyone’s buzzing, everyone’s happy and just ready to get going. So I think the sky’s the limit, honestly.”