Patient men's soccer defeats NC State 3-0
NC State goalie (1) scopes the field for an open pass on Sept. 15, 2016, against Virginia Tech at Thompson Field.
Billy Clarke / Collegiate Times
No. 23 Virginia Tech entered Friday night’s game undefeated at home and that remains unchanged after an impressive shutout win over North Carolina State. They were patient, but when they attacked, the Hokies showed their strength.
Virginia Tech did not possess the ball much early on, but still quickly scored when it had the ball.
Just over 10 minutes into the game, Hokies Som Essome and Juan Pablo Saavedra led a pass to Marcelo Acuna and the junior drilled in his fifth goal of the season and first of the game.
Only four minutes later, a senior-to-senior connection happened, as senior Som Essome scored his second goal of the season off the assist of senior Juan Pablo Saavedra. Then, the Hokies were up 2–0.
Though only getting four total shots in the first half, the Hokies were making the most of their possessions.
“With our style, we’re used to keeping the ball, but we didn’t (tonight),” said Hokies head coach Michael Brizendine. “We had to go through long stretches without the ball, but I thought we were patient enough. We stuck to the game plan.”
At 32 minutes and 45 seconds, the Hokies had the ball as they were driving and looking to add to their lead. Essome was ahead of his defender and looked for the pass, yet an offside penalty prevented that pass from coming.
As the half went on, the Hokies began substituting players. Some impressive footwork by Forrest White highlighted the closing minutes, and the score remained 2–0.
Brizendine thought getting more players in was key tonight.
“With our schedule going Tuesday, Friday it is very difficult. Now, it’s about managing legs and trying to staying healthy,” Brizendine said.
The second half saw an increased tempo by the Hokies and with many more shot attempts: seven alone with still 21 minutes to play. The Hokies decided to be a little less patient with the lead in hand. However, Virginia Tech was unable to connect time after time. With kicks wide left, wide right and high, the Hokies kept attacking.
Virginia Tech finally broke through and scored as redshirt-sophomore Ryan Marcano netted his first goal of the season.
After this goal, the game began again to see substitutions and saw Virginia Tech take its first ACC victory 3–0. Virginia Tech looked strong; the team did what it wanted and look to take this same success going forward, especially in ACC play.
“An ACC match is an ACC match, and all of these are important. This was a crucial game for us,” Brizendine said. “These guys knew it and they showed up tonight.”
Still remaining with only one loss on the season versus No. 1 Notre Dame, the now 6–1 (1–1) Hokies will look to keep up the strong play at Delaware Sept. 20 at 7 p.m., before returning home for another important ACC match-up on Friday, Sept. 23 against Clemson.