‘Look at us now.’ Strasburg boys soccer ready for first state tournament game in program history

HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - The swish of the net and the pop of the ball are sounds not normally heard this time of year within the Strasburg boys soccer program.

Normally, the Strasburg boys soccer program is enjoying the offseason. However, 2023 is different. The program will play in it’s first state tournament game in program history.

“Early on in the season, [Coach Munson] had us write down a few goals that we wanted to accomplish as a team,” said Strasburg midfielder Ryan Roller. “It was a unified goal that we all wanted to go to states. Look at us now.”

How did the Rams accomplish the feat you ask? Locker room chemistry.

“There’s senior leadership but everybody leads on the field,” said Roller. “Everyone tells us what are mistakes are and how we can get better.”

Strasburg head coach Betsy Munson has coached soccer for more than 20 years. However, she tells WHSV there’s a quality this Strasburg team has that makes the squad so special.

“I’ve never had a team that improves from week to week,” said Munson. “We’ll have a topic as a training session and they’ll just get better and better and they’ll take it to the game. That’s been amazing and very rewarding for me as a coach to see the improvement.”

Reaching the state tournament is considered mission accomplished for the Rams. However, Strasburg has set a new goal.

“To win a state tournament game, we’d be making more history,” said Roller. “It’d mean a lot to us and all these guys to keep going.”

Strasburg faces Poquoson on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in the Class 2 state quarterfinals.

Artificial surface prep

The Rams held their final practice before Tuesday’s matchup on an artificial practice field at Sentara Park in Harrisonburg in order to prepare for Poquoson’s artificial surface.

Roller described the practice as very beneficial, adding this will be many of his teammates first game on an artificial surface.

“The ball moves differently on a turf field compared to a regular grass field,” said Roller. “Being able to get out here and see how the ball moves and the speed of play that happens on a turf field is pretty important.”

Copyright 2023 WHSV. All rights reserved.