Hokie Feature: Men's Club Soccer

While the Division I Men’s Soccer team has been the talk of Blacksburg after its berth in the NCAA Tournament, there is another soccer team at Virginia Tech that has been turning heads as of late because of its play on the field. The men’s club soccer team has resumed its season following a lengthy hiatus due to COVID-19 and couldn’t be happier to be back on the pitch. 

“We are pretty fortunate,” freshman Harrison Dipetto said. “It definitely requires a lot more steps, but it’s great that we can still compete while still following all of these safety precautions. Everyone enjoys it, I think that we have 25 kids out here practicing right now.”

After practicing all year without being able to play games, it would be easy for this group to become downtrodden and become pessimistic about the hopes of playing again. Instead the tight-knit team bonded together and made the most out of a tough situation.

“At least half the year so far I’ve been training with the guys, I love them all,” sophomore Yousef Atrous said. “All of them make a great community around us. We’re always laughing, having a good time with each other and training hard as well. So we always keep high standards for each other.”

But despite the close nature of this group of Hokies, that’s not to say they don’t train hard as well.  

“I joined when I was a freshman and the team has always been good every year,” club president Robin Ahlers said. “We have good competition, it’s definitely something that takes my mind off of school and the stress of that, so it’s nice to get a little break and come play at night. I kind of wanted to build that culture for the new guys as well.”

Finally, all of the team’s hard work paid off, when Tech took down Tennessee in its first game of the season. It was a fantastic reward for a team that has worked hard for nearly a year to make it back to the field.  

Regardless of how the remainder of the season goes, the Hokies are just happy to get back on the field playing the game they love, together as a family.

“It has definitely kept me busy obviously, but I also think that staying active has been the most important part to me,” Atrous said. “In college life, it is weird always being in our dorms and our rooms especially with COVID-19, but being able to branch out and exercise and have fun with a good set of friends is amazing.”