hokies begin quest for soccer championship

Ishan Lamba

May 2, 2021

Virginia Tech will attempt to bring the first national championship to Blacksburg when it takes on the Oregon State Beavers (9-4, 6-4 Pac-12).

The Hokies (6-6-3, 5-5-2 ACC) were undoubtedly anxious during the selection show, where they were ranked No. 47 in the RPI. Coupled with the fact that this year’s tournament was reduced from 48 to 36 teams, there were only 14 at-large bids for teams to fight for.

This season marks Tech’s fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament. Historically the Hokies haven’t advanced too far into the tournament.

They made a run to the quarterfinals in 2016 and had their lone semifinal appearance back in 2007 under former head coach Oliver Weiss. Both bids were cut short by an in-conference foe, Wake Forest.

With the entire tournament being held in and around Greensboro, North Carolina, Virginia Tech hopes to capitalize on its strength and momentum away from home, boasting a 6-2 record.

In order to go on a Cinderella run, the Hokies will need to deal with their first obstacle: the Beavers.

The Beavers continue their upward climb under head coach Terry Boss, now in his third season. After missing the postseason in 2019, they had their most prolific offensive season in years, scoring the most total goals in the PAC-12 (33), third most in the NCAA.

Oregon State found its success on the back of Glorie Amanda who has a jaw-dropping 15 goals in 13 games. He is tied for fourth most goals in a single season since the PAC-10/12 started sponsoring men’s soccer back in 2000.

With how lethal Amanda has been for this Oregon State offense, Virginia Tech would hope to neutralize his impact as much as possible.

However, that may be difficult, given that it lost two key defensemen to injuries in its final regular season match. Nathan Durst and Jakob Bluemler both exited the match against the UMass Minutemen on April 17 with serious injuries.

In addition, the Hokies have had sophomore Matt Zambetti in goal since the halfway mark this season after veteran starting goalkeeper Mathijs Swaneveld left for his native Netherlands.

The holes and inexperience on defense may prove to be the Hokies’ downfall as they try to advance past the Round of 16 for the first time since 2016. Meanwhile, the Beavers look to advance into the Round of 16 for the first time in their history.

Since these two teams have never faced off before, look forward to an intense showdown in Greensboro to see who will advance to face the winner of Seton Hall/Air Force.

Game Information:

Virginia Tech vs. Oregon State

Bryan Park, Greensboro, North Carolina

May 2nd, 4 p.m.

NCAA or YouTube livestream.