Virginia Tech Men's Soccer 2021 Season Preview

Patrick Campbell, Kolbjorn Bergstrom and Ishan Lamba

February 28, 2021

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Tech will look to continue its winning ways heading into the 2021 season. The Hokies finished the 2020 season at 3-2-2, which included a 3-0-1 push to end the year and earned them a second place finish in the north division. Tech enters this season ranked fourth in the country. The spring schedule will be a tough one for the Hokies since it boasts three top-five programs.

With head coach Mike Brizendine moving through his 12th season at Virginia Tech, his first challenge in 2021 will be playing without his star midfielder Daniel Pereira after he was selected with the No. 1 pick in the MLS SuperDraft selected by Austin FC.

Pereira became just the third athlete in Virginia Tech history to be picked first overall in a professional sports draft (Michael Vick, Bruce Smith) and first in Hokie soccer history . Pereira scored the game winner in the fall finale to secure Tech’s first win over Virginia in 15 years.

The Hokies will miss the Venezualan native but have strong pieces in place to succeed this spring.

Midfielder Kristo Strickler was the second Hokie to be selected in the 2020 draft. The Houston Dynamo selected him in the second round but Strickler announced that he’ll play in the 2021 spring season. He currently sits at ninth in career goals at Virginia Tech with 27. Strickler had a massive impact in the fall season as well, scoring three out of the Hokies’ nine goals, and notching an assist as well.

Senior forward Jacob Labovitz is poised for a strong 2021 campaign, too. Labovitz has eight goals and 3 assists in his 24-game career, including three goals this past fall; none being more dramatic than the curving upper 90 shot he sailed into the back of the net to put away Louisville.

Junior forward Khalil Dover is one of the strongest players off the bench for Tech. In just seven games this past fall, he produced a goal and an assist and set career highs in minutes played.

Another player to look out for this season is Andrew Weber. The Charlottesville native registered his first start last season and scored on a penalty kick in Tuesday’s exhibition match at UVA to claim a 1-0 victory for Tech.

Two key points for the Hokies to improve on this season will be fouls and efficiency. Tech earned 16 yellow cards along with one red card in their seven games. The club also produced a total of 90 fouls compared to their opponents 78.

In terms of efficiency, the Hokies outshot their opponents 127-58 and led in corner kicks, 45-24, but were outscored 9-11. If the Hokies are able to lower their amount of penalties and capitalize on their scoring chances, then they’ll have a chance to be one of the best teams in the country.

Virginia Tech added some international talent to the team over the off-season who will be available this upcoming fall. Midfielder Pol Monells,graduate transfer from USC-Upstate, was named to the Big South All-Conference first team in 2019.

The Barcelona native has started in 46 career games, scoring 18 goals and accumulating 14 assists. Monells looks to bolster a strong midfield unit for the Hokies.

Defender Joel Opoku is the second international talent to join the club from semi-professional Vaughan FC. Opoku’s club won the Ontario Cup in 2019.

2021 Spring Schedule

At No. 5 Coastal Carolina (Sunday, 1 p.m.):

The Hokies start off the season with a road trip to Conway, South Carolina to face Coastal Carolina at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Hokies lead the all time series 2-0-1 with the last matchup resulting in a 2-0 victory in 2004 at Brooks Stadium.

Duke (March 6th, 1 p.m.):

The Hokies are 4-13-1 all-time against the Blue Devils with Virginia Tech winning the last matchup on the road 2-1 in 2019.

No. 1 Clemson (March 13th, 5 p.m.):

The Hokies are 3-8-5 all-time against the Tigers and will look to bounce back off their 4-1 loss to the Tigers in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament last fall. Clemson went on to win the ACC Tournament in 2020.

At Virginia (March 19th, 2 p.m.):

Virginia Tech is 3-32-6 all-time against the Cavaliers. Tech earned their first win against the Cavaliers since 2005 1-0 in Charlottesville. Tech will look to win back to back games against UVa for the first time ever.

No. 2 Pittsburgh (March 27th, 1 p.m.):

The Hokies are 5-2-4 all-timel ti-nst Pitt. The Panthers handed the Hokies their only regular season loss in the fall with a 4-2 victory at Thompson Field.

At North Carolina (April 2nd, 7 p.m.):

Virginia Tech is 3-16-1 all-time against the Tar Heels and will look to snap its seven-game losing streak in Dorrance Field. The Tarheels earned a 3-1 at Thompson Field in 2019.

At Notre Dame (April 9th, 7 p.m.):

Tech is4-6-1 all-time against the Fighting Irish and has won the last four matchups in a row. Tech won 1-0 on the road last season.