By Jimmy Robertson
The inability to clear a corner kick led to the ending of the 2019 season for the Virginia Tech men's soccer team.
And head coach Mike Brizendine still thinks about it.
Facing Stanford in Palo Alto, California in a Sweet 16 matchup during last fall's NCAA Championships, Tech controlled much of the action, and the match was tied at 1 heading into the final minutes. But the Hokies failed to clear a corner kick and that led to a Stanford goal in the 80th minute that ultimately ended the Hokies' campaign.
Tech finished with a 10-6-3 overall record, made its fourth consecutive NCAA appearance, and was ranked No. 12 nationally in the final Top Drawer Soccer poll – impressive accomplishments for a program rapidly becoming one of the nation's most consistent. But the sour taste from that evening in Palo Alto remains.
"It's tough with corners," Brizendine said. "You have all those bodies and not everyone can see the ball. One of our defenders was shielded. It should have been an easy clear, but you pick it up so late.
"That game is a rough one on me. I thought we could have won that game. I felt very good about it. Even after they scored, I felt good about it. Stanford is a tough place to go and win, and they proceeded to go to Clemson and win that game in PKs [penalty kicks]. It was tough because I knew it was the end with a group that I really, really loved coaching and a group I knew I would miss almost immediately."
The Hokies now will have to put 2019 in the rearview mirror, as workouts ramped up two months ago in preparation for the 2020 campaign that will not allow for an NCAA Championships berth, as the NCAA canceled its fall sports championships. Tech's postseason goal this season consists of making the ACC Championship in late November and winning the final match of that three-round conference tournament.
Tech certainly possesses the goods to do that despite losing six valuable seniors off last season's squad, including three-year starter Jon Ingason and Major League Soccer draft pick James Kasak. Ingason scored six goals as a defender, which ranked second on the team, and Kasak added three goals, which tied for fifth.
But this program is becoming one of the most consistent in the school's stable of 22 varsity sports. The cupboard remains stocked with quality talent and experience — Tech's 2020 roster features six seniors and seven juniors and includes three of the top four scorers from last season.
"This is a great group here," Brizendine admitted. "A great group. I'm very excited … we have great kids, and I'm very much looking forward to spending time with them."
Certainly, a coach could find himself in a worse position than returning his top two scorers and goalkeeper from the previous season.
High-scoring Kristo Strickler leads the way. The senior midfielder scored a team-best 11 goals in 2019 and led the Hokies with four game-winning goals. The Hilliard, Ohio native needs just one more goal to break into the top 10 in career goals at Tech, and he needs just eight more points to break into the top 10 in career points.
His scoring usually equates to success for Tech. During his career, the Hokies are 14-2-2 when Strickler scores a goal in a match.
"He's much better," Brizendine said of Strickler. "He's continued to grow. I wondered how last year would be without Marcelo [Acuna, a 2018 All-American]. If there is a go-to guy, whoever the secondary guy is finds things a little easier. But he's shined. It's a testament to what kind of kid he is. He's the best. I always know he's giving 100 percent. He's very consistent. I never worry about him off the field. He's a good leader for our team."
Tech's offense, though, features more than Strickler. The group of Daniel Pereira, Jacob Labovitz, Camron Lennon, and Nick Blacklock make the Hokies capable of scoring at any time.
In fact, Tech averaged a little more than two goals per game in 2019 against a difficult schedule, and Brizendine expects the Hokies to be just as potent this season.
Pereira, who made the All-ACC Freshman Team last season, scored five goals and finished with five assists in his debut season, while Labovitz added five goals and Lennon scored twice. Blacklock tied Pereira with a team-best five assists – and he and Pereira both were freshmen.
Brizendine expects big seasons from the latter two and also Lennon, who scored in each of the Hokies' final two matches of 2019.
"He's one of the more gifted players on our roster," Brizendine said of the junior from Austin, Texas. "His skillset is off the charts. He's just been injured all the time. He's had nagging injuries, so getting him right has been difficult. If that kid is 100 percent, this article won't be the last time you're writing his name. He's quick, he's skillful, he knows how to score, he can use both feet … he can do it all. He's just got to stay healthy."
Tech also features talent on the back end, led by goalkeeper Mathijs Swaneveld. Despite being injured for much of last season, the senior from The Netherlands played well, leading the ACC with 68 saves.
"He still had a great year, and he wasn't 100 percent," Brizendine said. "He had surgery [in the offseason], and I think he's doing much better. He'll be very good."
Tech needs to shore up the defense in front of Swaneveld, as defenders Ingason, Will Mejia, Nikal Clarke-Smith and Marc Hoppler all graduated. Ingason, in particular, gave the Hokies a steady presence, and the three-year starter will be missed.
Brizendine expects a lot of junior Sivert Haugli, a 6-foot-5 player from Oslo, Norway, and senior Jakob Bluemler from Bad Soden, Germany. Sivert started 17 matches last season, while Bluemler started 10.
Also, Tech's coach expects big things from a couple of newcomers – freshman Welnilton Da Silva Jr. from Para, Brazil, and Zane Bubb, a 6-4 transfer from North Florida. Bubb, who has two years of eligibility remaining, led North Florida in minutes last season.
"I think we have a lot of different options and a lot of different looks that we can do," Brizendine said. "Our depth has gotten better and better. It will be difficult to do a starting lineup with the depth that we have. If everybody is in good form, it could be unbelievably exciting."
The complications stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic have left the Hokies with a rather intriguing 2020 schedule. They play six conference matches total against Virginia (twice), Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Louisville, and Notre Dame as part of the ACC's "North Region." The top four teams in the North and South Regions advance to the ACC Championship.
Brizendine expressed confidence that his team will be ready to face the ACC's best. The Hokies, after all, have accumulated the fourth-most points in the Learfield Director's Cup standings among ACC men's soccer programs over the past four seasons and consistently rank in the top five of the RPI each season.
"Those were really high standards," he said. "The kids can't get a big head because everybody in the soccer community knows that. We have a big target on our back, and we have to respond to that. We have to come out with a chip on our shoulder."
Brizendine hopes his players do exactly that. After all, he knows that any success in any postseason format depends on it.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
10 – Mathijs Swaneveld's 10 saves in the win over then-No. 7 Wake Forest were the second-most in a match by an ACC goalkeeper last fall.
9 – On nine occasions since the Hokies joined the ACC, Tech has won at least seven matches in a season.
8 – Tech's NCAA appearance in 2019 marked its eighth as a program – all since 2003.
7 – Seven players return who started at least 10 matches last season.
6 – Kristo Strickler's 11 goals last fall were sixth in the ACC.
5 – Tech's 39 goals and 31 assists in 2019 each ranked fifth in the ACC.
4 – Strickler's four game-winning goals led the Hokies last fall.
3 – Three of Tech's returning players scored at least three goals in 2019 (Strickler, Daniel Pereira, Jacob Labovitz).
2 – Tech averaged 2.053 goals per match last season, a number that ranked second in the ACC.
1 – Swaneveld was first in the ACC in 2019 with 68 saves.