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Those
close games
that we’d tie or lose
late because of something
freakish, we’d win [last season]
because he’d score the goal. Half of
his goals were goals that mattered.”
Brizendine expects to see a more balanced
attack this season. Verfurth, who rotates between
forward and midfielder, scored two goals and recorded
an assist last season. He anchors things for the Hokies, keeping
players in the right spots and helping younger guys like Brendan Moyers
(two goals, three assists), James Kasak (one goal, one assist), Nico Quashie
(two goals) and Daniel Damiani, who played in 14 games before an injury ended his
season. The four freshmen played significant minutes a year ago, and Brizendine hopes to
see continued development.
He also wants to see strides made by some of his upperclassmen, including the likes of Gino
Rossi and Forrest White. Rossi registered a goal and three assists, while White scored the game-winning
goal in the Hokies’ upset of Indiana in the NCAA
tournament—his lone goal of the season.
“If those guys can do what I think they can do, that
changes everything,” Brizendine said. “If you have three
guys that can score five to seven goals, guess what that
does for Marcelo? It opens everything for him.”
On the back line, the Hokies need to find replacements
for Saavedra and Mion. The two combined for four goals
and five assists, but arguably more importantly, stabilized
Tech’s defensive efforts. Expect Will Mejia and Elias
Tamburini, who both started all 22 games last season,
to take over the production and leadership shown by the
two departed seniors.
Of course, Tech’s defense gets a huge lift with the return of Lundgaard, who started all 22 games a
year ago. Tech finished with a program-record nine shutouts on the season—eight of them with him in
goal—and he registered 87 saves.
Lundgaard certainly brings experience at the spot. The Virginia Beach, Virginia native has started all 50
games in which he has played in his career.
“We had a conversation [two years ago], and I said, ‘Look, you could be a pro. You have a lot of attributes.
But if you want to be a beach guy, that’s fine. Let’s not have a professional conversation,’” Brizendine said.
“Before this past fall, he went and played and trained all summer. He worked hard, and you see the result.
I think he did really, really well [in 2016].
“I knew that he had it in him. Once he decided that he was going to put playing at the next level and our
team in front of hanging out with his boys at the beach … I knew it would be different. I just didn’t know
it would be that drastic of a change.”
Tech’s deep and talented roster gives Brizendine a sense of optimism heading into the season opener
against Creighton on Aug. 25. Yet he admits he frets over team chemistry, which he considered a critical
part of the program’s 2016 success, and the potential for injuries.
“If we have a certain couple of guys that get injured, that really changes what we look like as a team,”
he admitted.
The bigger threat to Tech’s success, though, may be the schedule. The Hokies play a brutal slate that
features 11 teams that played in the NCAA tournament in 2016. Tech’s non-conference schedule includes
games against Creighton, South Carolina and William & Mary, while the conference slate includes games
against three schools with the ability to win the national title—North Carolina, Louisville and Virginia.
But Brizendine scheduled this way for a reason. He expects his team to be good, and such a schedule
only helps the team at NCAA tournament time.
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” he said. “I know that we’ll good, and I know that we’ll be competitive in
every game. I know a lot of things, but I also know that it’s the game of soccer. I also know that we’ve been
the lesser team and won, so it’s not guaranteed. It’s a game of inches.
“One thing I can assure you is that no one wants to play us. That, I know. We’ll be good enough to where
no one marks it on the schedule as an easy ‘W.’”
For sure, the program appears to be on the ascension under Brizendine. So the days of being an easy
“W” appear to be over—hopefully for good.
10
Ten different players
scored at least two goals
during the 2016 season.
9
Tech’s 2016 NCAA
appearance
marked its first in
nine years.
8
Tech won eight more
games
in 2016 than it did in
2015.
7
Seven different players
registered at least two assists
last season.
6
The Hokies ranked in the
top 30
nationally in six different
categories last fall.
5
Marcelo Acuna
scored a
team-best
five game-winning
goals in 2016.
4
Elias Tamburini’s four
assists
tied for the team lead
last season.
3
Marcelo Acuna ranked
third
in the ACC in goals (11)
and points (23) last fall.
2
Ben Lundgaard’s 87
saves
ranked second in the
ACC in 2016.
1
Marcelo Acuna was first
in the ACC in shots
(94)
and shots per game (4.27) last
season.
INSIDE
T H E N U M B E R S
inside.hokiesports.com35
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