{"id":154284,"date":"2025-11-10T02:33:32","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T07:33:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/?p=154284"},"modified":"2025-11-10T02:35:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T07:35:26","slug":"hbcu-soccer-virginia-state-comes-up-big-at-inaugural-ciaa-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/10\/hbcu-soccer-virginia-state-comes-up-big-at-inaugural-ciaa-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"HBCU soccer: Virginia State comes up big at inaugural CIAA cup"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


Ettrick, Va<\/em> \u2014 It was a banner weekend for HBCU athletics and for the sport of soccer, as Virginia State University swept both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s CIAA Soccer Cups on their home field at Rogers Stadium. The victories \u2014 capped by a thrilling 2-1 overtime win by the women\u2019s team over Bluefield State on Sunday, November 9 \u2014 marked the first championships under new Athletic Director Tiffani-Dawn Sykes, who took over in March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new venture for the CIAA<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The CIAA Soccer Cup was created to give member schools without a full six-team sponsorship a postseason experience, and Virginia State took full advantage. The Trojans\u2019 women\u2019s soccer team \u2014 just three years into its existence \u2014 fought their way to the top in dramatic fashion.

Valerie Camacho put VSU ahead in the 38th minute with an assist from Loryn Sturgis, before Bluefield State\u2019s Yassin Joof tied things up in the 56th. The match remained even through regulation until Morgan Parris delivered the golden goal in the 93rd minute, assisted by Tatiana Ward, to give Virginia State a 2-1 overtime victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goalkeeper Tianna Roberts collected two saves as the Trojans outshot the Lady Blues 7-3 on goal. The win capped a 5-10-1 season \u2014 but in context, those five victories represented a major leap for a young HBCU program still building its identity in the sport of soccer.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Why There\u2019s No NCAA Bid \u2014 Yet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Virginia State\u2019s championship was historic, but it came in a structure unique to the CIAA. Under NCAA rules, a conference must have at least six teams sponsoring a sport in order to qualify for an official automatic postseason bid. The CIAA currently has four schools with women\u2019s soccer programs: Virginia State, Lincoln (Pa.), Shaw, and Bluefield State.

Because there aren\u2019t yet enough teams to meet the six-school threshold, the CIAA does not sponsor soccer as an official NCAA championship sport \u2014 leaving these four programs as independents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than let their seasons end without a true finish line, CIAA Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams-Parker and VSU President Dr. Makola Abdullah pushed for Tiffani-Dawn Sykes and Co. to facilitate the CIAA Soccer Cup \u2014 a postseason tournament designed to give these student-athletes the same competitive experience enjoyed by their peers in other sports.

\u201cThis was about giving our student-athletes a championship experience,\u201d Sykes said. \u201cEven though the CIAA doesn\u2019t yet sponsor soccer because there aren\u2019t enough teams, we still wanted our players to compete for something meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sykes\u2019 Impact and the Bigger HBCU Picture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Just a few months after returning to her alma mater as AD, Sykes led the push for VSU to join the United States Collegiate Athletic Association<\/a> (USCAA) for the opportunity to compete for a national championship.

But in the meantime, Virginia State became the first school to hoist both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s Soccer Cup trophies, symbolizing a new chapter in HBCU soccer growth.

\u201cSeeing both of our teams win was incredible,\u201d Sykes said. \u201cOur women finished the season ranked fourth in the USCAA polls, which means they\u2019ll play in the national tournament in Pittsburgh. That\u2019s huge for them and for our program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Watershed moment for VSU women<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Head coach Anthony \u201cTJ\u201d Andrews, who started the women\u2019s soccer program in 2022, reflected on how far his team has come.

\u201cWe went from one win last season to five this year and a championship,\u201d Andrews said. \u201cThese young ladies have persevered through everything \u2014 they\u2019ve matured, they\u2019ve learned, and they\u2019ve grown. I couldn\u2019t be prouder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Junior forward Morgan Parris, who scored the overtime winner, called the moment surreal. \u201cI just got tunnel vision for the goal,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m just thankful for my team \u2014 we fought so hard, and I\u2019m happy I could finish it for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her goal wasn\u2019t just a golden finish to the match \u2014 it was a golden moment in the history of VSU athletics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing D2 HBCU soccer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Andrews and Sykes both see the success as part of a broader mission: expanding soccer\u2019s footprint among HBCUs.

\u201cThere are still a lot of independent HBCU soccer programs that don\u2019t have a conference,\u201d Andrews explained. \u201cWith this excitement and momentum, I hope we can create a full conference so our student-athletes can compete for championships every year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That vision is consistent with what Sykes described as Virginia State\u2019s top strategic goal \u2014 enhancing the student experience<\/em>.

\u201cFor student-athletes, being able to compete for a championship is a huge part of that,\u201d she said. \u201cNow our soccer players can leave here with degrees and championship rings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This initiative also positions Virginia State as a leader in growing the sport of soccer across the D2 HBCU landscape. By hosting and winning the first CIAA Soccer Cup, the Trojans set a precedent that other programs will look to follow \u2014 not only on the field but in how institutions can work together to elevate emerging sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And The Band Played On…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The celebrations in Ettrick went beyond the pitch. The Trojan Explosion Band, led by Dr. Taylor Whitehead, performed at the soccer semifinals just after returning from a heated rivalry football matchup against Virginia Union. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey brought their buses right to the stadium and played for our soccer team,\u201d Sykes said. \u201cWe might have to call it the \u2018third half\u2019 when they perform after our soccer games.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The atmosphere captured the essence of HBCU pride \u2014 school spirit, community support, and history in the making.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Virginia<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Looking Ahead <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With two trophies in hand, Virginia State now turns its focus to the USCAA national tournament in Pittsburgh, where the women\u2019s team will represent the CIAA and HBCU soccer on a national stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Sykes, it\u2019s a fitting first chapter.

\u201cTo see our athletes smiling and holding those trophies \u2014 that\u2019s what this is about,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re just getting started.\u201d

As the sun set over Rogers Stadium, this didn\u2019t just feel like another weekend in Ettrick. It felt like the birth of a new era \u2014 for Virginia State, for the CIAA, and for D2 HBCU soccer across the nation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Virginia State capped a historic weekend with an overtime win at home in the inaugural CIAA Soccer Cup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":154287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_ml_titleColor":"#000000","_ml_titleFont":"Roboto","_ml_titleFontSize":1.136,"_ml_titleFontWeight":"400","_ml_titleLineHeight":1.3,"_ml_metaColor":"#708090","_ml_metaFont":"Montserrat","_ml_metaFontSize":0.6785,"_ml_metaFontWeight":"400","_ml_metaLineHeight":0.92,"_ml_bodyColor":"#a9a9a9","_ml_bodyFont":"Open Sans","_ml_bodyFontSize":0.85,"_ml_bodyFontWeight":"400","_ml_bodyLineHeight":1.2,"_ml_wooPriceColor":"#666","_ml_wooPriceFont":"Open Sans","_ml_wooPriceFontSize":0.9,"_ml_wooPriceFontWeight":"400","_ml_wooPriceLineHeight":1.27,"_ml_headingColor":"#000","_ml_headingFont":"Merriweather","_ml_headingFontSize":2.02,"_ml_headingFontWeight":"700","_ml_headingLineHeight":1.47,"_mlglobal_userfontcolors":{"headingColorUser":[],"titleColorUser":[],"metaColorUser":[],"bodyColorUser":[],"wooPriceColorUser":[]},"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[573627540,573627634,573627948,573627825],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-154284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ciaa","category-soccer","category-sports","category-virginia-state"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHBCU soccer: Virginia State comes up big at inaugural CIAA cup - HBCU Gameday<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Virginia State University celebrated a historic weekend in HBCU athletics by winning both men's and women's CIAA Soccer Cups.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/10\/hbcu-soccer-virginia-state-comes-up-big-at-inaugural-ciaa-cup\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"HBCU soccer: Virginia State comes up big at inaugural CIAA cup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Virginia State University celebrated a historic weekend in HBCU athletics by winning both men's and women's CIAA Soccer Cups.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/10\/hbcu-soccer-virginia-state-comes-up-big-at-inaugural-ciaa-cup\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HBCU Gameday\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hbcugameday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-10T07:33:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-10T07:35:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/VSUCelebrate1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steven J. 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