Collegiate Times

When the men’s soccer team takes the pitch Saturday against Maryland, it will be understandable if the players experience a bit of de ja vu. Exactly two weeks ago Saturday night, the Hokies defeated then ranked No. 1 University of North Carolina 1-0 in double overtime.

On Saturday, the team will look to do the same thing to Maryland, who is now ranked No. 1 in the nation. If the team can pull off the upset, it will be the first time the feat has ever happened in program history. 

Michael Brizendine, head coach, knows the Maryland game will certainly be challenging to the team, which has suffered consecutive losses to No. 11 Boston College and No. 22 Eastern Tennessee University.

“We have to be tenacious defenders and capitalize on our opportunities,” Brizendine said. “I know how difficult Maryland will be. We’re not going to back down, we’re going to fight hard. Until that final whistle blows we’re still in it because our guys will grind it out and score goals. We can do the things that it takes to win. We just need to do it a little more consistently.”

Brizendine said the best his team has played was during the loss to Boston College. At halftime, the Hokies were down 3-1, but they came back and scored two goals to push the game into overtime. Although Boston College eventually scored the winning goal in the overtime period, Brizendine was still impressed with how the team fought through. 

“Even though we lost that game in OT, that second half was one of the best I’ve seen and been a part of in the last 10 years,” Brizendine said. “We were down two goals and came back. It’s unfortunate once again with the game of soccer.”

Although the team has hit a bit of a rough spot since defeating UNC, the players still expect to go out and win each game.

Following the UNC victory, goalkeeper Kyle Renfro was named ACC and Soccer America player of the week, separately. After being limited to only seven games last season because of shoulder injuries, Renfro is thriving this season. He calls the UNC game the best in his career, but is quick to point out that the victory was an all-around team win. 

“After the goal was scored, we just all went out and celebrated on the field,” Renfro said.  “Just seeing how everybody was excited and happy we were — it was great to see how all our hard work paid off.”

David Clemens, a sophomore midfielder, scored the first goal in the game against the Boston College. He is one of the leading scorers on the team, with two on the season. 

As a freshman last season, Clemens was a part of the team that won just five games. He has noticed a difference in the attitude of the players and how they can fight through adversity if they are down in a game.

“We know going into games that we can compete and win games,” Clemens said. “We know we can beat any team this year. Down 3-1 at the half, probably last year a lot of our heads would have went down, but we proved we could do it and verified where we stand right now.”

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A version of this article appeared in the Sep 22 issue of the Collegiate Times.