Collegiate Times

A first round NCAA tournament loss ended the season for the men’s soccer team last fall and this year’s young group has all the tools to improve upon last year’s performance.

First-team All-ACC forward Patrick Nyarko looks to lead this year's Hokie squad to a strong ACC and NCAA finish.

Last year's team finished with an 8th place ACC standing and a final record of 11-8-1. They were ranked as high as 8th in the nation during the season and earned their second straight NCAA tournament bid. Sophomore Patrick Nyarko earned his First-Team All-

ACC honors by leading the team in scoring with 16 goals and also added an impressive 8 assists. Freshman Charlie Campbell garnered All-ACC Freshman honors with his 1 goal
and 7 assist season.

Regular season wins against No. 3 Clemson and No. 13 St. John's earned the Hokies respect on the national level. A double overtime 0-0 tie with No. 3 Duke and a close 1-2 loss against No. 5 North Carolina were two hard-fought games that could have swung rankings around in the ACC with Hokie victories.

This year's squad loses only five seniors and retains their top three points leaders in junior Nyarko, redshirt senior Ben Nason, and senior Marcus Reed.

Also returning are goalies Drew Czekanski and Brendan Dunn. Both goalies saw significant playing time and should continue to share the goal keeping duties throughout the season.

Other major contributors returning will be defender Alexander Baden, midfielder Scott Spangler, midfielder Scott Dillie, defender Taylor Walsh, and All-ACC freshman Charlie Campbell.

A challenging schedule lies ahead of the Hokies with five of their opponents ranked 22 or higher by College Soccer News. Two early season tests await the team in their Hawthorne Suites Hokie Invitational September 7th and 8th where they will take on College Soccer News preseason No. 12 St. John's and No. 22 Clemson.

Incoming junior defender Taylor Walsh wants his team to improve on last year's performances.

"Last year we were happy to get to the NCAA tournament. This year we would like to do well in the ACC during the regular season. Then we hope to get as far as possible in the ACC and NCAA tournaments."

Swelling crowds are providing an exciting atmosphere for Virginia Tech soccer. Home fan attendance went from 9,636 over eleven games in 2005 to 11,752 attendees over only eight games in 2006. The Virginia Tech Soccer Stadium is beginning to draw a fan following that is often only seen in Lane Stadium during the fall semester.

Led by returning points leader Patrick Nyarko, this year's men's soccer team will provide an exciting show against several NCAA tournament contenders.

Preseason training begins this Sunday Aug. 5th with a two-mile run at midnight. Each player must run under twelve minutes in order to start practice with the team. Play opens in Blacksburg with an Aug. 25 match against High Point University.