Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 10 No. 2 | October 2017

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34 Inside Hokie Sports
“It was incredible,” Acuna said of last
season. “I never thought it would happen. For
me, it was like impossible … We didn’t make it
to the conference tournament, and now we’re
going to the Elite Eight.
“I remember … watching the games at
nationals [while at Houston Baptist], and
[thinking] it would be so incredible to play
just at nationals. Then just going to the Elite
Eight, the best eight teams in the country, it
was awesome.”
This season, Acuna has continued his goal-
scoring pace. He leads the team with eight
goals—including two in the Hokies’ upset of
then-No. 1 Notre Dame—as the Hokies seek to
make a return trip to theNCAAChampionships.
That will be a tall task, as Tech manages one
of the nation’s most difficult schedules—it’s
currently ranked the second-toughest based on
opponents’ records. The Hokies’ slate features
just six home games and not many “gimmes.”
Still, they remain confident, especially after
knocking off the Irish.
“I’m very confident,” Acuna said. “I know we
didn’t have the start that we wanted to have,
but I think that’s normal in college soccer. We
didn’t play at home in the first five games. So
I’m confident about going to nationals and
having a good run. We can do the same thing
as last year.”
Acuna’s collegiate career ends this fall, and he
plans on graduating next spring with a degree in
economics. He probably gets his interest in such
a topic fromhis parents—his father runs his own
company back in San Jose, and his mom works
as a financial manager for a company there.
But he himself hasn’t quite figured out his
future. He simply maintains a keen focus on
the present.
“Right now, I’m just having fun,” he said.
“I’m living in the moment. I know God has a
plan, and I’m going to enjoy every day that I
have here. I want to get my degree and have a
good season and then see what happens.”
For sure, he wants to continue playing
soccer—somewhere. The options include
professionally here in the U.S., or perhaps
professionally overseas. Another option is
returning home and working toward a spot on
the Costa Rica national team.
“My dream is to play in a World Cup,” he
admitted. “I played on the U-20 national team,
and we played in the World Cup qualification,
but we didn’t make it to the World Cup. It
was incredible. It was a long process. It was
awesome, but we didn’t make it, so it was
disappointing.”
GOING AFTER HIS GOALS Continued
from page 33
Of course,
returning
home to Costa
Rica wouldn’t
be the worst
thing in the world. After all, a land of
warm temperatures, beautiful beaches, lush
rainforests and dramatic volcanoes—and
all the activities that come along with those
things—sounds quite divine.
Acuna himself certainly enjoys all that his
native home offers. But for him, a worldwithout
soccer would be rather incomplete.
TOP MARCELO ACUNA
MOMENTS
Tech vs. Notre Dame (Sept. 22, 2017)
He scored two goals, including the game
winner in the 71st minute, to carry Tech to a
win over the then-No. 1 Irish.
Tech at Charlotte (Nov. 20, 2016)
He scored two second-half goals to help the
Hokies rally to a road win over then-No. 10
Charlotte in the second round of the NCAA
Championships.
Tech vs. Duke (Oct. 7, 2016)
Three days after his hat trick against VMI, he
notched a goal and an assist to lift Tech to a
3-1 victory over the Blue Devils.
Tech vs. VMI (Oct. 4, 2016)
He registered his first hat trick as a Hokie,
scoring three goals in Tech’s 7-1 triumph
over the Keydets.
Tech at Ohio State (Aug. 2, 2016)
His header in the 106th minute was the game
winner in the Hokies’ 1-0 double-overtime
win over the then-No. 18 Buckeyes.
, C.E.C.
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