Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech women's soccer program is unveiling its 2019 signing class in a different way. Rather than announcing all of them and their accomplishments in one release, the Hokies will highlight each new signee individually, which will include a brief "Get to Know" Q&A, until all of the incoming freshmen have been announced.
Our next 2019 addition to the program is Dare Burnett, a 5-foot-9 goalkeeper from Ashburn, Virginia. She currently attends Briar Woods High School and is planning on a double major when she arrives at Tech (more on that below).
For the Falcons, Burnett only competed in two seasons due to club obligations, earning one varsity letter in lacrosse as a freshman and one in soccer as a sophomore. She helped the lacrosse team to the conference playoffs in 2015, while making the second round of the regional playoffs and earning second team all-conference and all-region honors in soccer in 2016. She tallied a total of 147 saves during her only season in goal for the Falcons.
For the past six years, Burnett has been a member of FC Virginia DA, playing for Christian Cziommer. Highlighting her time with the club, was the team winning the Virginia State Cup championship twice (2013 and 2014) and in 2016, the team qualified for the ECNL National Playoffs in Oceanside, California. She was also a Phoenix Best XI First Team honoree in 2016, posted 18 shutouts this past season for FC Virginia and led the team to the quarterfinals of the DA national playoffs.
"Dare is a goalkeeper with good size. We've seen her grow over the recruiting process in stature and she does a really good job in goal," Tech head women's soccer coach Chugger Adair said. "She's solid. She's a good shot-stopper and has a great presence in the goal. We're looking forward her to coming in and adding to the depth and quality of our goalkeeper group."
GET TO KNOW - Dare
Name: Darrian Burnett
Position: goalkeeper
Height: 5-foot-9
Hometown: Ashburn, Virginia
High School: Briar Woods High School
Other Schools considered: Clemson, Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Columbia
Why did you choose Tech? Tech has always felt like home to me from the second I first visited. The people have always been so nice and welcoming. The coaches were a big part for me, I know I will be able to grow as a player in this program. The engineering and Neuro programs are also great for what I want to go into. It all just came together and made it obvious that Blacksburg was the place for me.
What was your favorite thing about your visit? I loved seeing Lane Stadium and going and seeing the lunch pail. I thought it was so cool and I could literally feel how important it was to the school.
What do you like about the Tech soccer program? It's just one big family and community. They play with one another and help each other grow and that creates a great environment for everybody to become a better player and person.
What are your soccer strengths? I think my communication and being able to read the game during play is one of my biggest strengths, along with extensions and crosses.
Who is your favorite pro player (why)? My favorite pro player would have to be Tim Howard (the most capped goalkeeper of all-time for the United States men's national team, with 121 between 2002 and 2017), even though he retired. He's an amazing goalkeeper and is just as good of a person off the field.
What is your most memorable soccer moment (why)? My most memorable soccer moment would have to be when we played the Bermudian National Team. It was an amazing trip and experience, and getting to be engulfed in another culture was so cool.
What do you think you will major in? I'm planning on double majoring in Machine Learning in the engineering school and Computational Neuroscience. I want to work with engineers in the robotics field to design robots that can function as the human brain does in order to study Alzheimer's disease.
What's one thing you'd want Tech fans to know about you? I love movies, dogs, and sailing. And I've heard all the "Truth or Dare" and "I dare you" jokes.
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