Collegiate Times

While most Virginia Tech students were finishing up final exams and getting ready for the summer, the Virginia Tech men’s soccer team was preparing for a 12-day, four-match tour through Germany and Holland.

On the morning of May 8, 16 players and three coaches departed Blacksburg on their 20-hour trip across six time zones to the Hokies first stop: Hannover, Germany.
After a day of free time in Hannover, the team departed the next morning for Burgdorf in order to prepare for their first match versus TSV Burgdorf. Head coach Oliver Weiss, originally from Burgdorf and being a huge supporter of his home club, explained how special this was to him.

“Burgdorf did a great job of making us feel welcome,” Weiss said. “They had a nice reception after the match and really rolled out the red carpet for my team and I.”
In the match versus TSV Burgdorf, the Hokies got off to a slow start in the wet, rainy conditions and found themselves down 3-0 at halftime. After conceding another goal early in the second half, Virginia Tech’s Ghanaian striker, Patrick Nyarko, converted from the penalty spot to put the Hokies on the board. Junior midfielder Ben Nason added another goal to close the gap with ten minutes remaining, but the German squad scored one more as well, to end the game 5-2.

Weiss attributed the Hokies’ slow start in this game perhaps to the jet lag and overall tiredness the team was experiencing, but he still mentioned there were no excuses.
“The other team was sharper than we were,” he said. “They might not have been as quick, but they were older, wiser, more experienced; especially with the technical aspects of the game.”

The following day — May 11 — the Hokies attended a training session of the German Bundesliga (the top club league in Germany) team, Hannover 96. Here, the team had the chance to meet with Hannover 96 player, Steve Cherundalo. Cherundalo currently plays on the U.S. national team and has been a part of the American squad for the past two World Cups. As a special treat for dinner that evening, the team visited junior Alexander Baden’s house, where they enjoyed a cookout meal of steak and sausage.

Baden, who broke his ankle in March, made the trip despite being unable to play.

 “The best part was going to my house,” Baden said, “being able to see my parents and show everyone my house and have a great cookout. I haven’t seen people eat so much ever in my life, so they loved it and that made me really happy.”

The second match of the tour was versus a team of a similar age as the collegiate Hokies. They were up to the challenge versus the under 19 team from Belgium, KRC Genk. The Hokies came out victorious with a score of 3-1. In the game, the Hokies played with two assistant coaches in the starting lineup in order to prevent player fatigue. The game’s first goal was set up by one of these coaches, Mike Brizendine who provided the assist for junior forward Scott Dillie.

Another assist from Brizendine, this time a through ball, allowed Nyarko to increase the lead to 2-0 before halftime. At half time, both teams made multiple substitutions; which included Virginia Tech goalie Brendan Dunn coming on to play forward.

Shortly after the second half whistle, KRC Genk scored a goal of their own to cut the Hokies’ lead in half.

The Hokies would not relinquish however, and it was assistant coach Brizendine again getting involved with the third goal. Brizendine tallied his third assist of the match by winning a mid-air challenge with the Genk goalie. The ball fell to Hokie goalie Brendan Dunn’s feet, who was able to slot it home in the empty net and give the Hokies a 3-1 victory.

Weiss complimented the very good Belgian team, while also giving credit to the Hokies. “Genk are about the same level team as Burgdorf, and we proved that we could play with them,” he said. “I thought that we did a better job defending in the end, and it was a good result for us.”

The tour’s toughest opponent for the Hokies would come on the next day versus an amateur FC Kaiserslauten team that is currently playing in the German third division.
Due to the close proximity of the Ramstein Air Force Base, around 30 Virginia Tech fans showed up for the match to cheer on the squad.
Again, the Hokies quickly surrendered two goals, but this time managed to get one back early. Sophomore Craig Brutus headed in a cross from sophomore Charlie Campbell for a Virginia Tech score.

Another Hokie mistake allowed for a quick transition goal that put the German squad to back to a two-goal lead at 3-1. The first half scoring barrage continued with some vintage Patrick Nyarko magic. Nyarko proceeded to beat two defenders on his own before beating the goalie as well.

That was the last of Virginia Tech’s goals for the game, with Kaiserslauten being able to convert twice more for a final score line of 5-2.

Finishing their third match in three days and their last on the tour, the Hokies faced Starnburg, a team located just outside of Munich. The game ended in a 3-3 draw with two goals coming from Nyarko, and the third goal being scored by Dunn.
The Hokies’ leading goal scorer of the trip was Nyarko, who netted five of the Hokies’ 10 goals.

 “I think my performance was ok,” Nyarko said. “I mean there is always room for improvement but with the exception of the first game, I think the overall performance was good. I was happy with the growth of our players from game to game. We adapted to the standard of competition pretty quick and I think the only reason why we didn’t
put up better results was the fatigue factor, because at one point we played three
tough games in three nights.”

Weiss said that one of his personal goals for the team was to gain experience against the next level of competition, and he believes that the Hokies did an excellent job doing that.
“We got better from game to game,” he said. “Our players proved that they can hang with teams at the next level, and we found that we are only a couple inches away from reaching it.”

In addition to the soccer, the Hokies enjoyed various sight-seeing adventures around Germany and even attended a Bundesliga (first division) match in Munich.

Weiss called the trip very successful overall, saying, “From an organizational and managerial point of view, the trip went very well. We did an excellent job mixing soccer with the German culture, and I thought that was important. All of the players got along great. It was a fun time for everyone.”

As for the benefit to the squad for next season, Weiss added, “One of my hopes was for the players to gain something when they step on the field next fall, and I think they succeeded in that. It was a nice continuation of the spring schedule. I saw some positive signs from one or two of the younger players that will be playing more in the fall. The additional experience for seniors Scott Spangler, Marcus Reed, and Ben Nason was also important because they will be the go-to tandem in the fall.”

The Hokies returned home to Blacksburg on May 19 and will kick off their fall campaign on August 25th in an exhibition match versus High Point.