Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech women's soccer program is unveiling its 2020 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.
The first 2020 addition to be featured is Tori Powell, a 5-foot-9 forward from Haymarket, Virginia. She currently attends Battlefield High School and is contemplating on majoring in communications when she gets to Tech.
Over the past eight years, most of Powell's soccer experience has been under coaches Christian Cziommer and Bobby Puppione with FC Virginia DA. This past season, Powell scored 15 goals in 19 games and was the third leading scoring on the team, which was the top-ranked team the country. Highlighting the year was her two-goal, one-assist effort in a 3-2 victory over then-No. 1 ranked NTH Tophat. She was also a 2019 U.S. Soccer YNT Identification Center invitee.
During the 2017-18 soccer campaign, Powell was the leading scoring on the team with 25 goals in 25 games and finished sixth in the USSDA in goals scored as her team was ranked No. 6 in the nation. She also was a USSDA Best 11 East Conference selection at forward in the U18/19 age group (she was playing up a year). While with the FCV U16/17 team, she helped them to a No. 11 ranking and scored the game-winning goal and had an assist in a 2-1 win over No. 7 NTH Tophat, which advanced the team to the quarterfinals of the inaugural USSDA Girls National Championship playoffs.
At Battlefield, Powell played just one season as a freshman, scoring nine goals and assisting on nine more as she was named a First Team All-Conference, a Second Team All-Northern Region and a TeamSnap Spring State Star – one of two freshman in Virginia (of 52 recipients). Powell also ran track for three years, qualifying for the nationals as a freshman in the 500 meters and on the 4x400 relay team (only freshman on relay team with three seniors).
"Tori is a target forward, who is consistently dangerous around goal – not only for herself, but she will bring teammates into the play and be an attacking threat," Tech head coach Chugger Adair said. "She is a game-changing type of attacking forward, who we are looking forward to having on campus and getting her a part of the group and part of the team. We are looking forward to her impact right away."
GET TO KNOW - Tori
Name: Tori Powell
Position: Forward
Height: 5-foot-9
Hometown: Haymarket, Virginia
High School: Battlefield High School
Other Schools considered: University of Virginia, University of Georgia
Why did you choose Tech? The first thing I loved was the campus, especially the "Hokie stone". The school itself just has such a welcoming environment surrounding it, and I felt Virginia Tech was the perfect fit for me.
What was your favorite thing about your visit? The huge pancake I had for breakfast.
What do you like about the Tech soccer program? I love the level of intensity with everything the team does. I also love to see how bonded everyone on the team is and how they seem to play for one another.
What are your soccer strengths? My soccer strengths are my athleticism, my ability to turn with the ball, and my ability of creating goal-scoring opportunities.
Who is your favorite pro player (why)? My favorite soccer player has been Mia Hamm since I first started playing soccer around age 3. I loved her because she was also a forward and she had such an impressive talent to put the ball in the net.
What is your most memorable soccer moment (why)? My most memorable soccer moment is actually a game my team lost. It was my freshman year in high school and we lost a regional game in the last two minutes. The reason it was so memorable is because a senior player saw I was really upset after the game, so she came over to me and gave me an extremely inspiring speech, not only about the loss we just had, but also about my future as a player.
What do you think you will major in? I think I will major in communications because I love working with other people, and I have always had an interest in media and advertising.
What's one thing you'd want Tech fans to know about you? I have a golden retriever named Striker and I used to have two pet chinchillas.