Historically, Virginia Tech has been one of the weaker outfits in the ACC, regularly finishing towards the bottom of the conference standings. The program's most successful era came briefly in the early to mid-2000s, where the five years, the Hokies earned three berths into the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. In 2003 and 2005, the Hokies made their first two appearances in the tournament, where they reached the second round of the tournament. In 2007, the team made a remarkable run to the College Cup, making their deepest run in tournament history. Since their 2007 run, they did not qualify for an NCAA Tournament bid again until 2016.
History
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2016)
Oliver Weiss era, NCAA violations
The improved greatly with the arrival of head coach Oliver Weiss in 2000. Under Weiss, Tech has made four appearances in the NCAA Tournament (second round in 2003, 2005, first round in 2006, and the semifinals in 2007), the only four in school history. The team is currently ranked fourth in the nation under the Division I NSCAA/adidas National Rankings (last updated Tuesday, November 6, 2007). In the 2007 season, the team achieved its highest national ranking in school history when they reached #4 on October 23. The previous highest ranking was in the 2005 season at eighth in the country. Also, Tech set a new school record with a 15-game unbeaten streak (10-0-5 from September 2 to November 3) during the 2007 season.
The popularity for the team and game attendance has increased since the invitation to the Atlantic Coast Conference and with the 2006 FIFA World Cup. 2008 was by all accounts a rebuilding year, as the Hokies went winless (0-8) in ACC play.
In 2009, Coach Weiss resigned, days before the school self-reported recruiting violations to the NCAA in connection with Weiss allegedly fronting application fees for recruits.[2] Per NCAA rules, paying for a recruit's application fees, even if the recruit repays the loan, is not permitted. Mike Brizendine, a Weiss assistant and former head coach of Bridgewater College, was promoted to head coach to replace him.
Notable events
On September 11, 2011, the Hokies defeated the UNC Tar Heels 1–0 in extra time, making it one of the largest college soccer upsets of the 2011 season. Tech, at the time was unranked, while North Carolina was ranked first in the nation.[3]
Virginia Tech's major rival in soccer is the Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer program. The two sides have a longstanding rivalry across all sports which translates over to soccer. Generally, matches between the two sides attract larger than average crowds.[4] In the 2005–06 and 2006-07 school years, the program-wide rivalry was called the Commonwealth Challenge. A renewed rivalry competition began for the 2014–15 season, called the "Commonwealth Clash."
Historically, Virginia has dominated the rivalry, leading the all-time series 34-5-7.
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
Conference regular season champion
Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
Division regular season champion
Division regular season and conference tournament champion
Conference tournament champion
