The Virginia Tech men's soccer program finds itself in a bit of a strange, unfamiliar situation, as it gets ready to kick off the 2019 season.
For the first time in quite a while, the Hokies find themselves in the position as the hunted instead of the hunter.
The Hokies won 11 games and made their third straight NCAA Championships appearance last season, receiving a national seed and advancing to the Sweet 16. Looking ahead to this season, a roster loaded with talent and experience returns and has resulted in lofty expectations among fans and those in tune with the world of collegiate men's soccer.
Tech head coach Mike Brizendine embraces those expectations – after all, he and his staff built the program into this – but he also admits feeling a bit nervous.
"I'm excited about the amount of kids we have and our culture," he said. "I'm apprehensive because of we have a tough schedule, and everyone wants to kick our butts. All these other years, we've been the underdog, and that's kind of the Tech way – underdog and play with a chip on our shoulder. The reality is we need to continue to play like that and not think about anything else."
Tech's 2018 team featured a high-powered offense, solid defense, and terrific goalkeeping. With 10 players who started at least 10 matches returning, the 2019 group appears to be built in that exact same mold.
Tech ranked second in the ACC in 2018 with 37 goals. Nine of the 12 goal scorers last season return, led by Kristo Strickler. The rising junior earned second-team All-ACC honors after leading the team with 10 goals.
"I thought he would score goals for certain," Brizendine said. "But I had him in the five-to-seven-goal range, especially with the kind of schedule we played. He's such a great kid. It's a pleasure to coach him, and his stuff is based on hard work. He's got a lot of talent, but there is a deep desire to win out of that boy. As long as we can keep him healthy, it should be good."
Strickler may receive an in-season invite to participate in a U.S. national team tryout at some point this fall and thus could miss some games. But the Hokies figure to be able to absorb any Strickler absence.
Nico Quashie, a forward, scored six goals in 2018, while defender Jon Ingason added four goals, and forward Brendan Moyers scored three. Defender James Kasak led the team with seven assists.
"We return most of our goals, and we've added some special pieces," Brizendine said. "We're adding some young guys that are going to help. Justus [Kauppinen] got hurt [last season], and we thought he'd be a five-to-seven goal guy, so we've got a third-year player back and healthy. We've got some recruits we're going to add to that.
"I think we're going to be dynamic up front. We can throw a bunch of different combinations of people at you, and it's going to be wave after wave after wave, which is nice. With this group, there isn't one guy to shut down. If you double up on Kristo, then you're leaving yourself exposed one-on-one with Nico Quashie or Cam Lennon or Justus."
In the midfield, the Hokies need to replace steady Rory Slevin, but an experienced group returns. Strickler anchors the midfielders, and the group also includes Kauppinen, Lennon, and Emil Koho, all juniors.
On the other side of the pitch, Brizendine said the Hokies played well on defense last season. Ingason and Will Mejia lead a group of experienced defenders in front of outstanding goalkeeper Mathijs Swaneveld, who surprised everyone when he stepped in after Ben Lundgaard's departure and played outstanding.
Swaneveld earned third-team All-ACC honors in 2018. The rising junior finished with five shutouts as a sophomore, starting all 21 games and playing every minute in goal for Tech.
"He enrolled in the spring [January, 2018], and in the spring, it's not like he lit it up," Brizendine said. "It wasn't a slam dunk that he was the man. He did some good things, but he did some not-so-good things. But in the fall, he emerged, and once he got some confidence, he got it going."
Brizendine loves his depth at the goalkeeper position, with Hayden Kickbush as the backup, along with sophomore Connor Jordan-Hyde and freshman Matt Zambetti. One of Brizendine's early preseason goals is to tighten up the defense in front of the goalkeepers.
A year ago, Swaneveld led the ACC in saves with 95. The Hokies allowed the most goals in the ACC, though that stat is misleading. Tech also played in more games than all but three league teams.
Still, Brizendine wants to see improvement.
"I'm hoping we can get to where he [Swaneveld] doesn't have to absorb so many shots," he said. "A lot of that is just a by-product of how we play. We want to score goals, and sometimes you take risks. Sometimes, they pay off, and sometimes they don't.
"We definitely know defense wins games. If the other team doesn't score, we won't lose. It's a fact. But we're not going to hold back on pushing a little bit trying to get forward, trying to get numbers in the box, trying to score goals. Again, overwhelm the other team's defense."
Overall, this may be the deepest team in Brizendine's tenure as he enters his 11thseason as the head coach and his 15thseason overall at Tech. Seventeen different players started at least one match last season.
He also added 10 new players, including five freshmen from Virginia and Jacob Labovitz, a transfer from Fairleigh Dickinson who finished with eight points in 2018. Several of the freshmen put up impressive numbers on the high school level.
"Something else that excites me is our depth," Brizendine said. "If you want to be good, if you want to make a run, you have to have depth, and I think that we have it. The reality is you're going to have things to deal with, whether it's Kristo going to the national team, or someone getting injured or whatever the case may be. We can absorb it … We have options."
The Hokies will need that depth, as Tech again – in following with Brizendine's philosophy – faces a challenging schedule. The nonconference slate includes matches against 2018 NCAA Championships participants Georgetown, Princeton and Grand Canyon, and the conference schedule includes games against 2018 NCAA participants North Carolina, Notre Dame, Virginia and Duke.
The Hokies, though, have the experience and savvy to survive being the hunted and make it to the NCAA Championships for an unprecedented fourth straight season. The road to survival starts Aug. 30 when they open the season against Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles.
FIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2019
(quotes from head coach Mike Brizendine)
James Kasak, senior, defender –"I thought James was the best left back in the conference last year. I've got confidence in him that he can do it."
Jakob Bluemler, junior, defender –"No one talks about him, but he plays a ton of minutes and had some really good performances. Davidson, for example. I thought he defended really, really well, and he scored two goals."
Sivert Haugli, sophomore, midfielder –"He's going to be a steady player for us."
Chris Little, sophomore, midfielder –"There were times when he was the best player on the field this spring. I expect him to have a breakout year."
Camron Lennon, junior, midfielder –"If he is healthy, he's got some special stuff. He's started gaining confidence. He's had some nagging injuries, and he may not play this year, but if he does, he's exciting because he has all the tools."