Count Tech Among ‘Big Girl’ Teams

Jazmine Reeves knows the pecking order in women’s college soccer.

For years, Atlantic Coast Conference programs like North Carolina, Florida State, Duke, Virginia, and Wake Forest have been regulars in the national title discussion.

When it came to Virginia Tech’s place on the national stage, Reeves realized even before she arrived in Blacksburg, Va., that there was a perception the Hokies were outsiders.

“For a very long time, even before I got here, and even more toward the first couple of years that I was here, we were not always thought of as the best soccer playing team,” Reeves said. “We were thought of as a team that relied on working hard.”

The hard-working mind-set that former head coach Kelly Cagle established, helped Virginia Tech creep into the national conversation, first as a member of the Big East Conference and then as a member of the ACC. Along the way, the Hokies achieved a number of firsts, most importantly their first NCAA tournament appearance. The program’s first back-to-back NCAA trips followed and soon the Hokies had a postseason run that began to make people take notice.

[show_disconnected][show_to accesslevel=’Subscriber’] These days, Virginia Tech has carved a place along side of the perennial ACC stalwarts and has staked a claim to not being just another hard-working side that has a few years of success.

Under coach Charles “Chugger” Adair, Virginia Tech has stretched its streak of NCAA tournament appearances to five. A sixth-straight trip appears to be in the cards this season thanks to an 11-1-2 record and a 6-1-1 start in the ACC.

A 1-0 victory against then-#9 Notre Dame on Oct. 13 extended the team’s unbeaten streak and helped it match the program mark for most victories in an ACC season.

The victory also pushed Virginia Tech from #10 to #6 in the latest NSCAA rankings and put it in a position where it was the higher ranked team for the first time for a meeting against WFU (#19) on Oct. 17.

But Reeves and the Hokies aren’t content with making waves in the regular season. They want to show the nation they are ready for primetime.

“We are better soccer players now than we have been in the past,” said Reeves, a senior forward from Dover, Del., who is tied for the team lead in goals (seven) and assists (four).

“Having that foundation of being good teammates first and being able to really enjoy each other as people has helped us on the soccer field. We bring that hard work and determination together, which helps us be together.”

Reeves has been through a whirlwind at Virginia Tech. After “awesome” freshman and sophomore seasons at Virginia Tech, Reeves admits she may have “regressed” last season when she said she “just wasn’t ready to play.”

She credits Adair and her teammates for helping her to get back to her original form. She said she used her teammates as motivation to want to do better and came in determined and dedicated she was going to have a good season.

That support is the foundation upon which Adair has built on Cagle’s initial success. Now in his third season as coach, Adair has stressed patience and player development.

“I had a good relationship with the players (when I took over as coach) and they were able to grow and develop in the transition and we didn’t lose players and we moved positively forward,” Adair said.

“Three of our back four are first-year starters. Those kids — Taylor Antolino, senior right back; Jodie Zelenky, junior center back; and Danielle King, junior left back — have been able to develop and grow within the program, which has been important for us.”

Adair said the move to the ACC also helped the program reach a wider audience. He said depth was an initial concern in the ACC, but the program has grown to the point it can go deeper into its bench and not lose its edge.

As a result, victories against programs like UNC in the 2009 and 2011 regular seasons — following six-straight defeats — no longer are anomalies. These days, they are the norm.

“During (the growing) process, Kelly focused on the positives we had the first time, like beating somebody or finishing high up in the conference or the first time we made the ACC tournament or the first time we made the NCAA tournament (2004),” Adair said. “Our job is to continue to build on that and continue the growth.”

Having success makes the increased exposure even more valuable and has helped Virginia Tech’s recruitment of players Adair admits the Hokies traditionally haven’t been in the mix with in the past.

Incoming players now are a group of Hokies that are determined and dedicated and who know what to expect from everyone. Reeves said the defined values have established a foundation she has been proud to develop and knows will continue for years after she leaves.

For now, though, Reeves’ priority is to help Virginia Tech carve out a bigger place on the national scene next to the conference rivals who have been established for a few more years.

“This year a word I would use is grit,” Reeves said. “It just gives us a little bit of an edge. I feel we may have lost it last year and we have it back this year.

“The word grit encompasses mental toughness, being hungry and working hard at all times. It helps us compete on the field and it is specific to this team.

“We have worked so hard to get to this point, and it is only going to continue to get better.”