Collegiate Times

The men's soccer team come together for a huddle before the start of play.

Virginia Tech men's soccer goalkeepers Markus Aigner and Brendan Dunn come from very different backgrounds, but they share the same common objectives — to keep the ball out of their net and to lead the Hokies to victory.

Through 11 games this season, the two keepers are doing an exceptional job of just that.

The Hokies began the season with sophomore Brendan Dunn, a native of New Rochelle, N.Y., starting in goal. He was the logical choice because he had shared the starting duties the season before with Drew Czekanski, and Dunn's results did everything to merit his position as the starter. In the first six games of the season - all of which Dunn started - the Hokies compiled a 5-1 record, with two of the five wins coming against ranked opponents.

However, Dunn's seventh start against William & Mary didn't prove to be quite as providential. Dunn was replaced at halftime by junior Markus Aigner, a transfer from Taufkirchen, Germany who has held the starting role ever since.

"Brendan was clearly the number one guy for the first part of the season," said head coach Oliver Weiss. "Then slowly but surely as Markus became eligible, he also became better in training and has done a good job since then."

Aigner couldn't play in the early stages of the season due to a delay in eligibility because he didn't finished tests at the University of Munich until August.

But since he came in at halftime against William & Mary, he has posted a 2-0-3 record with 0.97 goals against average while helping the Hokies climb to a top 10 national ranking.

The Hokies recorded their first shutout of the season against Richmond in Aigner's first career start and picked up another shutout Tuesday against VMI with Aigner playing the first half.

"When you haven't given up goals, that's when you try to stick with the goalkeeper you have," Weiss said.

Dunn played just over 36 minutes of the VMI game in a substitute role, as did Stefan Caulfield, Tech's third goalkeeper, who played 8:43 minutes of the game.

"Obviously you want to play as a keeper, but I understand the situation that (Aigner) has come in and done really well," Dunn said. "Everyone wants to play, but if we win, that's all that really matters at the end of the day."

Dunn's positive attitude and effort towards creating what Weiss calls "a total team" has helped both players adjust to their new roles and continue to win games. Dunn and Aigner have developed a friendship off the field, and their healthy competitiveness has produced results on the field.

"When you have two very good keepers, it's good for both of them," Aigner said. "They compete, and everybody wants to be the number one keeper so you can push each other ... You always must be very concentrated during practice, and that's very good to improving yourself."

The results have spoken for themselves recently, with Tech currently riding a 10-game unbeaten streak. The Hokies are 7-0-3 over that span, which ties the longest unbeaten streak in school history.

The Hokies have also soared up the rankings and currently sit eighth in the nation in the NSCAA/Adidas poll, thanks in large part to their ability to keep the ball out of their own net.

"We are climbing the rankings so, you know, people are looking to giving us their best game every game," Weiss said. "I feel very comfortable having three keepers that will help us win as many games as possible."

The Hokies will look to establish a new school record unbeaten streak Saturday night in College Park, Md. when they take on ACC foe University of Maryland in a game Markus Aigner is again expected to start for the Hokies. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.