Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 13 No. 1 | August 2020

44 Inside Hokie Sports 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 and seven nonconference matches—all against ACC teams. Most conferences postponed competition in the fall and the SEC only has two schools that play men’s soccer, all of which left Brizendine with few options to fill out a schedule. Still, Tech’s slate will be daunting—as usual. The Hokies’ strength of schedule has ranked in the top five nationally in each of the past four years. “What I’ve found is that the guys respond to playing in tough games, so I just keep scheduling them, and they keep showing that they can handle it,” Brizendine said. “It’s been working out. “We do things that are unique, but that’s how you get a great RPI [Ratings Percentage Index]. If I played only home games, it would affect our RPI, and when we go to places like Stanford, we wouldn’t be ready for it.” He 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 and the Hokies may not know what a postseason format looks like at the start of the season, but they do know that any success in the format depends on it. INSIDE T H E N U M B E R S 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. MATHIJS SWANEVELD TECH MEN’S SOCCER WITH LOFTY GOALS YET AGAIN Continued from page 43