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Inside Hokie Sports
5
TO
WATCH
IN
2017
1
Kallie Peurifoy
Tech missed the redshirt senior last season when she went down
with an injury. The forward possesses a lot of skills, but Tech missed
her leadership and winning personality more. The Hokies are 13-6-1
in games in which she has started in her career.
2
Katherine Roth
Roth played in just eight games as a freshman last fall, but the
coaching staff liked what it saw of her this spring. She played
forward in 2016, but may be able to help the Hokies on the back line
this season.
3
Bridget Patch
The forward played in all 19 games as a freshman last season,
starting five of them. She scored a goal and had an assist, and
Tech’s coaching staff thinks she possesses the talent to be a
consistent scoring threat this season.
4
Allyson Brown
A forward from Northern Virginia, Brown was two-time, first-team
All-Met selection by The Washington Post and the Group 4A state
player of the year as a junior. She should be able to add scoring to
Tech’s lineup as a freshman.
5
Chandler McDaniel
The California native played extensively as a freshman last season,
seeing action in 17 games and starting three of them. She can play
forward or midfielder, adding versatility to Tech’s lineup.
“That’s a good question,” Adair said. “We’re trying to use the talents
that we have within this returning team and see how that fits into the
style of play that we like to play.”
The schedule offers theHokies little in theway of breaks to ease players
into roles. They open the season against San Diego and Pepperdine, two
solid West Coast teams, at the University of San Diego Tournament.
They also play Georgia, William & Mary and at Tennessee—none of
them will be easy contests.
Tech then opens the ACC slate with two road games, starting Sept.
17 at Duke. Duke, North Carolina and Florida State hold national
championship aspirations. The Hokies face the latter two at home,
though.
“Those are good opportunities for us to pick up some big wins,” Adair
said. “That’s the one thing I heard was that we didn’t have a significant
win last year. The NCAA tournament selection group had a reason to
leave us out.”
To be successful, the Hokies need to avoid injuries, and like any team,
need good fortune as well to win some of its toss-up games.
But Adair goes into this season optimistic. Seven of his returning
players started at least 11 games last season, and 16 returning players
started at least one game. So the foundation appears to be in place.
“I know we’ve got a few injuries, which factor in things that we’re
dealing with as we move forward,” Adair said. “That’s limiting a little
how the kids and how the team progresses. We’re dealing with that. I
don’t know the status of a couple of them right now.
“But there is a good group of kids back who have some experience.
That’s important for us. We have a good foundation, and that’s what we
have to focus on—those players being themselves and having an impact.”
If the Hokies do that, then they’ll find themselves where they want to
be at the end of November—in the NCAA Championships. As they found
out last season, the alternative is not an appealing option.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Continued from page 41