VIRGINIA BEACH — For the first time since its inception in 1993, the All-Tidewater Boys Soccer Player of the Year award is being given to a goalkeeper.
Senior Sam Braidwood, fresh off a state title with Cox High, said he was “stoked” to learn he’d been selected.
“This is stuff you dream of,” Braidwood said. “I played really, really well in, like, a bunch of big games this year, and I felt like I definitely could have won. But being a goalkeeper at the end of the day, we don’t usually get the recognition we deserve, so I wasn’t expecting anything. I knew I was going to be on one of the All-Tidewater teams. But Tidewater Player of the Year is a shock. It’s awesome.”
Braidwood is the 12th player from Cox to be named the All-Tidewater Boys Soccer Player of the Year and the first since Mikey Farmer in 2022. The Falcons, winners of the Class 5 state championship, had four other players make the All-Tidewater teams in Dax Booth, Josh Haggerty, Gabe Zarate and Carter Whalen.
“Being put in a category with all these great players that I’ve idolized for years is awesome,” Braidwood said. “But I think I want people to remember our team more than (they) remember me being All-Tidewater Player of the Year. Like, yeah, I was All-Tidewater Player of the Year because I had Carter Whalen in front of me, because I had Josh Haggerty, because I had Dax Booth, because I had Gabe Zarate. I don’t want people to remember the 2024 Tidewater Player of the Year — I want them to remember the 2024 state champs.”
Braidwood was a crucial piece of the puzzle that helped Cox bring home its second state championship in the past three years.
Braidwood helped Cox limit its opponents to just 12 goals this year, eight in the regular season and four in the postseason. He also shined in the Class 5 state tournament, saving four penalty kicks in the semifinal and final to help give the Falcons their championship.
Cox head coach Santo Ripa said the success Braidwood had against top-tier competition all year shows just how crucial he was to the Falcons’ success.
“The Beach District is hard enough as it is — with the adjustments to the region, it makes it even harder,” Ripa said. “… He’s being tested on all different levels of the game and multiple different occasions, and because of how strong our schedule is, it’s almost like proof to show that he’s quality.”
Braidwood also was named to the Class 5 Region A first team and Class 5 first team in the days since winning the state title in June. Ripa said his mentality and aerial presence made Braidwood stand out amongst other goalies and players.
“He stopped countless long throw-ins, countless corner kicks and free kicks,” Ripa said. “He stopped any long ball in the box. He was an aerial threat, and that, to me, was so strong. And then when he is tested on the line, he makes some point-blank saves, too. So for me, it really is that he’s got a mental thing going for him and he’s got this aerial presence that is so, so powerful.”
Ripa and Braidwood said they couldn’t have predicted Braidwood’s success when he arrived at Cox. But both knew he had potential.
“I had no idea I’d be Tidewater Player of the Year, but as a kid you always think about that stuff,” Braidwood said. “I knew I was one of the best goalkeepers in the area, and I knew I could do it. I can’t thank Ripa enough and (former Cox head coach Eric Blackmore) enough.”
Barring any future comebacks, Braidwood’s soccer journey ends with this honor. This fall, he will begin his freshman year at William & Mary, where he’s joining head coach Mike London’s football team as a kicker.
Braidwood said he received some interest to play soccer collegiately, but ultimately the toll of all the soccer he was playing outside of his time with Cox had “drained” him. He said he’s “unbelievingly excited” to start a new journey and kick for the Tribe.
“As much as I love soccer, I don’t think I’ve even cracked the surface of what I can be as a football player. Like I’ve been playing soccer 95% of the time and football 5% of the time. I cannot wait until I get up there and all I do is football. I’ve only been playing football two years, and the whole time I’ve been playing soccer and then playing football on the side. And I just can’t wait to play football all the time now.”
Michael Sauls, (757) 803-5774, michael.sauls@virginiamedia.com
All-Tidewater Boys Soccer Players of the Year
2024: Sam Braidwood, Cox
2023: Hamilton Howes, Kellam
2022: Mikey Farmer, Cox
2021: Owen Ruddy, First Colonial
2020: Season canceled (pandemic)
2019: Clay Obara, Cox
2018: Clay Obara, Cox
2017: Jared Greene, Kellam
2016: Jaylen Thompson, First Colonial
2015: Yohan DePicker, Ocean Lakes
2014: Peter Pearson, Cape Henry
2013: Peter Pearson, Cape Henry
2012: Brian Davidson, First Colonial
2011: Eric Bird, Cox
2010: Ryan Oakes, Cox
2009: Jordan Cyrus, Norfolk Academy
2008: Caleb Thomas, Cox
2007: T.J. Cyrus, Norfolk Academy
2006: T.J. Cyrus, Norfolk Academy
2005: Jeremy Harris, Cox
2004: Marcus Reed, Hickory
2003: Ian Holder, Norfolk Academy
2002: Charles Nweke, Cox
2001: Kyle Hartley, Kempsville
2000: Travis Clarke, Cox
1999: Chris Burgess, Kempsville
1998: Rob Wright, First Colonial
1997: Adam Schultz, Kempsville
1996: Adam Schultz, Kempsville
1995: Danny McVey, Tallwood
1994: Matt Whalen, Cox
1993: Bucky Silva, Cox
