# 2021 Virginia Tech Hokies men's soccer team

The 2021 Virginia Tech Hokies men's soccer team represented Virginia Tech during the 2021 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 50th 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 thirteenth-year head coach Mike Brizendine.
The Hokies finished the season 11–5–4 overall and 3–4–1 in ACC play to finish fifth in the Coastal Division. As the eighth overall seed in the ACC Tournament, they defeated ninth seed Boston College in the first round before losing to top seeded Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. They defeated Campbell in the first round before losing to West Virginia in a penalty shoot-out to end their season.

## Previous season

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.
In the 2021 MLS SuperDraft, the Hokies had two players drafted:Daniel Periera and Kristofer Strickler.

## Player movement
### Players leaving

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Mathijs Swaneveld | 1 | GK | 6'4" | Senior | Schoonhoven, Netherlands | Graduated |
| Oreyem Kilama | 7 | FW | | Sophomore | Wilmington, DE | — |
| Daniel Pereira | 9 | MF | 5'9" | Sophomore | Roanoke, VA | Drafted 1st overall in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft by Austin FC |
| Kristo Strickler | 15 | MF | 5'10" | Senior | Hilliard, OH | Graduated; Drafted 30th overall in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft by the Houston Dynamo |
| Birkir Eythórsson | 16 | MF | 6'0" | Freshman | Reykjavík, Iceland | Signed professional contract with Fylkir |
| Hayden Kickbush | 27 | GK | 6'2" | Junior | Arlington, VA | Graduated |
| Alex Adjetey | 30 | FW | 5'7" | Sophomore | Accra, Ghana | — |
| Jakob Bluemler | 31 | GK | 5'10" | Senior | Frankfurt, Germany | Graduated |

### Players arriving

| Name | Nat. | Hometown | Club |
| Carsten Bay DF | USA | Chesapeake, VA | Beach FC |
| Jordan Black DF | USA | Woodbridge, VA | Loudoun Soccer Club |
| Danny Flores DF | USA | Faribault, MN | Philadelphia Union |
| Ethan Fraser FW | USA | Leesburg, VA | Loudoun Soccer Club |
| Carter Hensley MF | USA | Charlotte, NC | Charlotte Soccer Academy |
| Ben Martino GK | USA | Pittsburgh, PA | Philadelphia Union |
| James Declan Quill FW | USA | Falls Church, VA | Braddock Road YC |
| Chris Thompson DF | USA | Woodbridge, VA | Loudoun Soccer Club |

## Squad
### Roster

    As of February 2, 2022
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 0 | GK | USA | Connor Jordan-Hyde |
| 1 | GK | USA | Ben Martino |
| 2 | DF | USA | Jack Dearie |
| 3 | DF | NOR | Sivert Haugli |
| 4 | MF | USA | Kyle Stenzel |
| 5 | DF | BRA | Welnilton da Silva |
| 6 | MF | AUS | Camron Joice |
| 7 | FW | USA | Declan Quill |
| 8 | MF | GHA | Mayola Kinyua |
| 9 | FW | ESP | Pol Monells |
| 10 | MF | USA | Chris Little |
| 11 | FW | USA | Daniel Starr |
| 12 | MF | USA | Andrew Weber |
| 13 | MF | USA | Carter Hensley |
| 14 | FW | USA | Kahlil Dover |
| 15 | FW | USA | Ethan Fraser |
| 16 | MF | EIR | Conor Pugh |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | FW | USA | Nick Backlock |
| 18 | FW | USA | Jacob Labovitz |
| 20 | MF | USA | Landon Ameres |
| 21 | MF | USA | Camron Lennon |
| 22 | DF | USA | Mason McClendon |
| 23 | MF | USA | Danny Flores |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Kyle McDowell |
| 25 | GK | USA | Matt Zambetti |
| 26 | DF | USA | Chris Nicola |
| 27 | GK | USA | Timi Adams |
| 28 | DF | USA | Zane Bubb |
| 29 | DF | USA | Chris Thompson |
| 30 | MF | USA | Tyler Taber |
| 31 | DF | CAN | Joel Opoku |
| 32 | DF | USA | Carsten Bay |
| 33 | DF | USA | Jordan Black |

### Team management

| Position | Staff |
| Athletic Director | Whit Babcock |
| Head Coach | Mike Brizendine |
| Assistant Coach | Patrick McSorley |
| Assistant Coach | James Lofton |
Source:

## Schedule

Source:
| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Exhibition ||||||
| August 13* 7:00 p.m. | No. 15 | No. 18 Charlotte | L 0–1 | – | Thompson Field Blacksburg, VA |
| August 17* 7:00 p.m. | No. 15 | NC State | L 0–2 | – | Thompson Field Blacksburg, VA |
| August 21* 1:00 p.m. | No. 15 | at No. 5 Georgetown | | – | Shaw Field Washington, D.C. |
| Regular season ||||||
| August 26* 5:00 p.m. | No. 15 | vs. Kansas City JMU Invitational | T 2–2 $^{2OT}$ | 0–0–1 | Sentara Park (0) Harrisonburg, VA |
| August 29* 3:30 p.m. | No. 15 | vs. No. 1 Marshall JMU Invitational | W 3–2 | 1–0–1 | Sentara Park (113) Harrisonburg, VA |
| September 3* 4:00 p.m. | No. 10 | vs. UCF George Tarantini Classic | W 2–1 | 2–0–1 | Dail Soccer Field (50) Raleigh, NC |
| September 6* 1:00 p.m. | No. 10 | vs. No. 20 Seton Hall George Tarantini Classic | T 3–3 $^{2OT}$ | 2–0–2 | Dail Soccer Field (116) Raleigh, NC |
| September 11 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 6 | at No. 19 Duke | L 0–1 | 2–1–2 (0–1–0) | Koskinen Stadium (863) Durham, NC |
| September 17 7:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 17 | Virginia Commonwealth Clash | W 2–1 $^{2OT}$ | 3–1–2 (1–1–0) | Thompson Field (2,725) Blacksburg, VA |
| September 21* 7:00 p.m. | No. 12 | at William & Mary | W 3–2 | 4–1–2 | Albert–Daly Field (1,129) Williamsburg, VA |
| September 24 7:00 p.m. | No. 12 | Notre Dame | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 5–1–2 (2–1–0) | Thompson Field (1,423) Blacksburg, VA |
| September 28* 7:00 p.m. | No. 11 | East Tennessee State | W 2–0 | 6–1–2 | Thompson Field (511) Blacksburg, VA |
| October 1 7:00 p.m. | No. 11 | at Boston College | T 0–0 $^{2OT}$ | 6–1–3 (2–1–1) | Newton Soccer Complex (1,956) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| October 8 6:00 p.m., ACCRSN | No. 9 | No. 23 Louisville | W 4–2 | 7–1–3 (3–1–1) | Thompson Field (765) Blacksburg, VA |
| October 12* 7:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 5 | Davidson | W 4–0 | 8–1–3 | Thompson Field (435) Blacksburg, VA |
| October 16 7:00 p.m. | No. 5 | at Wake Forest | L 1–3 | 8–2–3 (3–2–1) | Spry Stadium (3,026) Winston–Salem, NC |
| October 20* 6:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 13 | Winthrop | W 3–0 | 9–2–3 | Thompson Field (551) Blacksburg, VA |
| October 24 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN | No. 13 | North Carolina | L 0–2 | 9–3–3 (3–3–1) | Thompson Field (1,115) Blacksburg, VA |
| October 29 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 21 | at No. 12 Pittsburgh | L 1–4 | 9–4–3 (3–4–1) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (900) Pittsburgh, PA |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| November 3 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | (8) | (9) Boston College First Round | W 1–0 $^{OT}$ | 10–4–3 | Thompson Field (1,535) Blacksburg, VA |
| November 7 4:00 p.m., ACCN | (8) | at (1) No. 6 Pittsburgh Quarterfinals | L 1–2 $^{2OT}$ | 10–5–3 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (1,443) Pittsburgh, PA |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| November 18 6:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Campbell First Round | W 2–1 | 11–5–3 | Thompson Field (369) Blacksburg, VA |
| November 21 1:00 p.m. | | (11) No. 21 West Virginia Second Round | T 1–1 (3–4 PKs) $^{2OT}$ | 11–5–4 | Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium (1,017) Morgantown, WV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||

## Honors and awards

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Sivert Haugli | Preseason All-ACC Watchlist | August 18, 2021 |
| Jacob Labovitz | ACC Offensive Player of the Week | September 21, 2021 |
| Danny Flores | ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week | September 28, 2021 |
| Jacob Labovitz | All-ACC First Team | November 10 |
| Mayola Kinyua | All-ACC Third Team | November 10 |
| Danny Flores | ACC All-Freshman Team | November 10 |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| United Soccer | 15 | 10 | 6 | 17 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 13 | 21 | RV | RV | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 19 |
| TopDrawer Soccer | 19 | 18 | 18 | — | — | — | — | 21 | 21 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## 2022 MLS SuperDraft

| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position |
| Sivert Haugli | Portland Timbers | 3 | 83 | DF |
Source: