The Hokie, NoVa native will wear a Richmond jersey for the first time in our inaugural season.
RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond Ivy Soccer Club is pleased to announce that Virginia Tech defensive back Maysen Nelson will join the team for its inaugural season pending league and federation approval.
“We are excited to welcome Maysen to the Ivy roster! Maysen is a talented center back with a strong presence and has shown her ability to match the style of play we’re after. She is an athlete that is comfortable on the ball with the ability to connect dangerous penetrating passes; defensively, she reads the game well, can command her back line, and get stuck in to tackles. Maysen’s mentality will add to the culture we want to have and will help in our ambitions to win.”
Originally from Woodbridge, Va. Nelson was a four-year academy defender at The St. James FC Virgina (TSJFCV) and graduated in 2022 from Charles J. Colgan Senior High School. She is now a sophomore at Virginia Tech studying human development with the hopes of becoming a physical therapist.
“When I received the offer to play for Richmond Ivy this summer I was super excited,” Nelson saidI am happy to play in an environment that challenges me while also lets me have fun and grow as a player. I am thrilled and can’t wait for the season to start!
Across her time at Tech, Nelson has claimed more and more playing time. She made three appearances her freshman year. Subbing on against Elon in late August and Charlotte in early September, the center back helped to secure wins in both of those match ups.
In her sophomore year, Nelson appeared in 10 matches, starting in six of those. Her presence on the backline helped to produce a 6-3-1 record across those ten matches — five of which were clean sheets. Nelson claimed a full 90 minutes of play against the University of Miami, helping the Hokies to beat the Hurricanes 3-0 in late October.
“Maysen’s got a great ability to play out of the back, she’s really comfortable on the ball, I mean she doesn’t seem to get phased,” Tech Head Coach Charles Adair said. “She’s kinda like cool as a cucumber back there on the ball, she doesn’t get put off or feel pressure when she’s trying to play out. She’s smart with good technical ability, she can pass into the midfield and over the top so she’s got a mix of playing availability out of the back. We’ve been really pleased with that ability over the last two years.”
Throughout high school, Nelson filled the center back position at TSJFCV. During the 2018-19 season, Nelson majorly contributed to the defensive effort that helped TSJFCV sport a +51 goal differential, conceding goals only 35 times across 32 league matches on their way to the Under-15 Atlantic Division championship.
Over the next two seasons, Nelson co-captained the academy team and led TSJFCV to the 2021 Mid-Atlantic conference title. Ultimately, she would advance to the U-17 national championship with TSJFCV. Among her personal accolades with the team, Nelson earned Girls Academy Standouts recognition in September of 2020 and June of 2021.
“Maysen has the technical ability and range of pass to help us play out from the back and control games in possession,” Sporting Director Madeline McCracken said. “She is an athletic defender with great pace. We are thrilled to be able to add her to the roster in our inaugural year where she will help us establish our Richmond Ivy soccer identity and enhance our backline in 2024!”
