The 2020 Virginia Tech Hokies men's soccer team represented Virginia Tech during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 49th season of the University fielding a program. The Hokies played their home games at Sandra D. Thompson Field in Blacksburg, Virginia. The Hokies were led by twelfth-year head coach Mike Brizendine.
The teams' 2020 season was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which curtailed the fall season and caused the NCAA Tournament to be played in spring 2021. The ACC was one of the only two conferences in men's soccer to play in the fall of 2020. The ACC also held a mini-season during the spring of 2021.
The Hokies finished the fall season 3–2–2 and 3–1–2 in ACC play to finish in second place in the North Division. In the ACC Tournament they lost to Clemson in the Quarterfinals. They finished the spring season 4–4–2 and 2–4–0 in ACC play, to finish in fifth place in the Coastal Division. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. They defeated Oregon State in the Second Round before losing to the number six seed Seton Hall in the Third Round to end their season.
Previous season
The 2019 Virginia Tech men's soccer team finished the season with a 10–6–3 overall record and a 2–4–2 ACC record. The Hokies were seeded eleventh–overall in the 2019 ACC Men's Soccer Tournament. The Hokies won their first round match up against Louisville, but fell to Wake Forest in the quarterfinals. The Hokies earned an at-large bid into the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. As the tenth overall seed Virginia Tech defeated New Hampshire in the second round, before losing to Stanford in the third round.
Preseason Player movement
Players leaving
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for departure Will Mejia 2 DF 6'2" Senior Falls Church, VA Graduated Jon Ingason 5 DF 6'1" Senior Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland Graduated Brendan Moyers 6 FW 6'0" Senior Earlysville, VA Graduated James Kasak 8 FW 5'9" Senior Stuarts Draft, VA Declared for 2020 MLS SuperDraft, drafted 84th overall by Sporting Kansas City Nikal Clarke-Smith 13 DF 6'2" Senior Toronto, Canada Graduated Marc Hoppler 17 DF 6'0" Senior Lucerne, Switzerland Graduated
Players arriving
Name Nat. Hometown Club TDS Rating Palmetto, FL Clearwater Chargers Para, Brazil SIMA Ponta Vedra Beach, FL Beachside Academy Newcastle, Australia Lake Ginninderra Secondary College Wilmington, DE Delaware FC Clover, SC Charlotte Independence SC
Transfers
Name Pos. Height Year Hometown Notes 8 Elk Creek, VA Transferred from Appalachian State
Preseason rankings ACC Media Poll The ACC men's soccer media poll was released on September 8, 2020. Virginia Tech was picked to finish third in the ACC North Division.
Coaches' Poll 1 Virginia 59 (9) 2 Pitt 44 (2) 3 Virginia Tech 35 4 Syracuse 30 5 Louisville 29 6 Notre Dame 28
Preseason honors and awards
All-ACC Preseason Team Kristo Strickler, Senior, Forward
Squad Roster Updated: December 10, 2020
Team management
Position Staff Athletic Director Whit Babcock Head coach Mike Brizendine Assistant Coach Patrick McSorley Assistant Coach Josh Dunn
Schedule
Source:
!colspan=7 style=""| Fall Regular season
!colspan=7 style=""| ACC Tournament
!colspan=7 style=""| Spring Exhibition
!colspan=7 style=""| Spring Regular season
!colspan=7 style=""| NCAA Tournament
Honors and awards Jacob Labovitz ACC Offensive Player of the Week November 2, 2020 Kristo Strickler MAC Hermann Trophy Watchlist January 28, 2021 Nathan Durst ACC Defensive Player of the Week April 5, 2021 Kristo Strickler ACC Offensive Player of the Week Daniel Pereira All ACC First-Team April 14, 2021 Kristo Strickler Jacob Labovitz All ACC Third-Team Kristo Strickler ACC Midfielder of the Year
Rankings
Fall 2020
+ Ranking movementLegend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes. Poll Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Final United Soccer 5 4
Spring 2021
+ Ranking movementLegend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes. PollPre Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Final United Soccer None Released 13 21 25 RV None Released 15 TopDrawer Soccer 11 10 10 10 10 17 18 15 16 16
2021 MLS SuperDraft
Austin FC 1 1 MF Houston Dynamo 2 30 FW
Source:
References
External links Virginia Tech Men's Soccer