Virginia Tech Hokies women's soccer

History

1990s

The Virginia Tech Hokies women's soccer team began play under coach Sam Okpodu in 1993. The team had a respectable first season, finishing 6–10–1. The team began play without a conference. A small improvement followed in the team's second season; they finished with a record of 8–11–0. In 1995 the Hokies began play in the Atlantic 10 Conference, where the school was a member in other sports. The move proved difficult, with the Hokies finishing 3–12–3 overall, and 1–3–1 in their first conference season. However, improvement quickly followed, with the team achieving a .500 record in overall play and a winning record in conference play in 1996. The team won nine games in each season from 1996 to 1999. Their loss record was remarkably consistent as well, with the Hokies losing nine games from 1996 to 1998 and ten in 1999.

2000s

The decade of the 2000s started in a very similar fashion, with the team going 9–10–0. In 2000, the team did not participate in a conference as the university transitioned into joining the Big East Conference. 2001 was the team's first season in the Big East, and proved a difficult one. The Hokies finished 8–9–3 overall, but 1–8–1 in conference play. After the season, Sam Okpodu left as head coach to pursue an opportunity with the Nigerian National Team. Jerry Cheynet switched from coaching the men's team to the women's team. In his only season as head coach, the team finished 6–11–1 and 2–4 in conference play. Kelly Cagle took over as the program's third head coach in program history in 2003. She achieved a 9–9 record in her first season. 2004 proved to be a turning point year for the Hokies. First, the school joined the Atlantic Coast Conference. In their first year in the ACC, the team achieved their first winning season in program history, finishing 11–9–0. Additionally, they qualified for their first postseason, qualifying for both the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. The 2004 postseason qualification was not followed up until 2008. The team posted losing records in 2005 and 2006. Despite a 8–7–3 record in 2007, the Hokies did not qualify for either tournament. In 2008, the Hokies were runners up in the ACC Tournament, their best finish in program history. They also began a run of qualifying for eight straight NCAA tournaments in 2008. The decade closed with a program best for wins, with 16. The previous record was in 2004, with 11. The Hokies also achieved only their second winning conference record in 2009.

2010s

The decade started with the Hokies continuing to qualify for the ACC and NCAA tournaments, and winning double-digit games. 2010 marked the third straight year that the Hokies achieved each of those milestones. However, after the season, coach Kelly Cagle resigned to relocate her family to the Southwest. Charles Adair was hired as her replacement. He had been the associate head coach at Virginia Tech for the previous five years. Adair picked up where Cagle left off. In his first season, the Hokies won 14 games, and finally broke through the first round of the NCAA tournament. The team reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history. In 2012, the Hokies finished 4–5–1 in conference play for the third straight year. This record was good enough to qualify for the ACC Tournament in the previous two years, but was not good enough in 2012. However, the team did make another NCAA Tournament appearance. 2013 was arguably the best season in program history. The Hokies set a program record for wins, with 19, finished as runner up in the ACC Tournament, and reached the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. Their nine conference wins are a program record by three wins. The Hokies could not repeat the heights of 2013 in 2014. The team finished with 16 wins, and notched another NCAA Sweet 16 appearance, but their 5–5 ACC record was not good enough to qualify for the tournament. This was in part because the ACC reduced the tournament size to four teams instead of eight. 2015 saw the Hokies' win total drop by 1, to 15. They lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and missed the ACC Tournament despite a 6–3–1 conference record. 2016 ended a run of eight straight NCAA appearances. The Hokies did finish with a winning record of 11–5–3, but had a sub-par 3–4–3 conference record. They endured a disappointing 2017 where they went 1–5–4 in conference play. 2018 proved to be a rebound, with the team qualifying for the ACC and NCAA tournaments after a two-year hiatus. The Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA tournament was their best result since 2014.

2020s

The decade started with a season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic The team played a shortened out-of-conference schedule and only eight games in the ACC. They finished seventh, and lost in the first round of the ACC Tournament. In 2021 the team returned to a more normal conference schedule, posted a 12–6–2 overall record, and went 5–3–2 in ACC play to finish in eighth place. The ACC tournament only invited six teams, so they did not qualify. They reached the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. In 2022, the Hokies finished 10–6–2 overall and 4–5–1 in ACC play to finish in eighth place again. They did earn an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament, but lost in the first round. Their qualification marked the fourth time in five years that the team qualified for the NCAA Tournament. 2023 saw the Hokies finish 7–8–3 overall and 4–6–0 in ACC play. They did not qualify for the ACC Tournament, and missed the NCAA Tournament for the second time in four years. The Hokies would rebound in 2024, finishing 14–6–3 overall and 6–2–2 in ACC play. They qualified for the ACC tournament for the first time in four years, and reached the Quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history. They could not keep their momentum from 2024 going into 2025, however and finished 4–10–4 overall and 0–8–2 in ACC play. Their four wins, were their second lowest in program history, and it was the first season they failed to win a conference game in program history.

Personnel

Roster

Team management

Seasons

† In 1995 the Hokies began play in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

‡ In 2001 the Hokies began play in the Big East Conference.

^ In 2004 the Hokies began play in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Notable alumni

Main article: Category:Virginia Tech Hokies women's soccer players

Current professional players

• USA Kari Nicole Campos (2014–2017) - currently with Alajuelense
• PHI Chandler McDaniel (2016–2017) - currently with Stallion Laguna and Philippines national team
• USA Mandy McGlynn (2016–2019) - currently with Utah Royals and United States international
• UKR Nicole Kozlova (2017–2021) - currently with Glasgow City F.C. and Ukraine international
• USA Emily Gray (2018–2021) - currently with Utah Royals
• NOR Victoria Haugen (2020–2023) - currently with Tampa Bay Sun FC
• USA Allie George (2021–2024) - currently with Racing Louisville FC

References

References

1. "Virginia Tech Women's Soccer Record Book". Virginia Tech Athletics.
2. "Thompson Field". Virginia Tech Athletics.
3. [http://www.techsideline.com/tslmail/archives/tslmail0131.htm TSLMail #131 – Friday, June 11, 2004]
4. Licker, Michael. (October 17, 2002). "Tech’s coach makes switch". The Daily Orange.
5. (June 30, 2003). "Virginia Tech first to jump into ACC". ESPN.
6. (December 13, 2010). "Cagle resigns to relocate family". Soccer America.
7. "2025 Women's Soccer Roster". Virginia Tech Athletics.
8. {{harvnb. 2018 Record Book
9. {{harvnb. 2018 Record Book