The men's soccer team will look to rebound from 2008's disappointing 5-13-1 season and rekindle the fire from two years ago that sparked a run to the Final Four.
During the offseason, the program received a drastic makeover resulting in a much younger team featuring 12 freshmen as well as a new coaching staff.
On June 2, the team's head coach for the past four seasons, Oliver Weiss, unexpectedly resigned. The athletic department did not have to look long for a replacement as longtime assistant Michael Brizendine was promoted to the position nine days later.
Brizendine then called upon Patrick McSorley, his friend and former teammate at James Madison University, to fill the vacated assistant coach position. McSorley, who graduated in 1996, already has 10 years of coaching experience - he spent six seasons coaching at his alma mater before coaching at Virginia Military Institute for the past four.
"He's been a Division I coach for almost a decade," Brizendine said. "He just brings a wealth of knowledge. He was at VMI, a tough place to go through. So, he understands what it's like to be in the grind. As far as recruiting, he knows how to turn over every rock."
Although the team has only spent roughly two weeks practicing with their new coaching staff, the players note that the change has been for the better.
"Coaching-wise, coach Brizendine is more laid back, but not in the sense of being more apathetic," senior defender James Gilson said. "That's just his style. A lot of the kids last season did not respond well to criticism and took it to heart. Brizendine handles the delivery of the criticism better than Weiss."
The team's freshman class also received a warm welcome. Several of the 12 are expected to have an impact right away and have surprised many of the veterans on the team with their adaptability.
"Greg Cochrane (defender/midfielder) came in extremely fit and with a really high soccer IQ," Gilson said. "He can play almost any position on the field. He takes direction very well and wants to learn how to get better."
"He's a little bit ahead of the curve, but a lot of the young guys have similar characteristics. Robert Alberti (midfielder/forward) is another guy who's stood out to me. He shares Cochrane's mentality but brings a very different quality onto the field. Both of them are going to be really big for us this season."
Gilson believes that the new additions will make a world of difference since the team already shows signs of chemistry, which was absent on the field last season.
"I think the major problem was the mentality of the team and the types of kids who were on the team," Gilson said. "We weren't even a team - we were a group of individuals playing on the same field and wearing the same uniforms."
"Every team I've been on, everybody has been close-knit friends - hang out outside of soccer, enjoy each other's company, want to do well for each other, don't want to let anyone else down. That was what was different last season. There was no camaraderie or bonds. No chemistry whatsoever."
Gilson, one of four returning seniors on the team, led the Hokies with 16 points on six goals and four assists last season.
Aside from the new talent and coaching staff, he suggests that one of the biggest reasons why the Hokies will not repeat their record from last season is the return of one of his classmates, fifth-year senior defender Alexander Baden. Baden missed all of the 2008 season due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury after starting all but one game for the team in 2007. Brizendine says Baden is nearing the end of his healing process.
"His knee is still recovering," Brizendine said. "An ACL injury just takes a long time to heal completely. You can go back to running, but it takes a good amount of time for your head to be right and for nothing to swell."
Brizendine added that although he was not on the field last season, Baden still played an important role with his guidance.
"His leadership alone is amazing," Brizendine said of Baden. "He can win us games by just keeping us organized. For him to actually be on the field is just a huge bonus."
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