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ACC soccer is the toughest conference in the nation. It can take a wonderful start to the year, playing non-conference opponents, and grind it to a halt. It will leave negative marks on the schedule and would create post season doubts for more schools. But not in the ACC.
Virginia Tech opened the year with four straight wins, then came conference play. By the end of the season the Hokies record was 9 wins, 5 losses and 3 draws. In the ACC the record was 2 wins, 4 losses and 2 draws. And not only did Tech still make the 2019 NCAA Tournament, they did so by being awarded a bye into the second round.
That is how well regarded the ACC is. And no conference better prepares you for post-season play.
So it was with that backdrop that the Hokies watched on Monday as they were given the #10 seed. Tech will host the second round game at Thompson Field on Sunday November 24th at 4 pm ET.
We get a National seed as we earn a program record forth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament‼️
— Virginia Tech Men’s Soccer (@HokiesMSoccer) November 18, 2019
We host the winner of New Hampshire & Fairleigh Dickinson Sunday at Thompson Field pic.twitter.com/1fyU034r8v
Their opponent will be the winner of New Hampshire vs. Fairleigh Dickinson. Those two will face off Thursday (11/21) at 6:00 pm ET. If the Hokies advance they would either host the winner of Seattle University/Loyola Marymount University or travel to take on Stanford in the third round.
This is the first time the program has made it to the NCAA Tournament four years in a row, and their eighth overall. It serves as a marker that the team isn’t just surviving in the ACC, but has fully adapted into a serious soccer program. Can they recreate the magic from 2007, when a Patrick Nyarko led Virginia Tech made it to the NCAA College Cup (Final)?