Tech Soccer Triumphant In Weekend Games

In an extremely successful weekend for Virginia Tech soccer, the men’s team swept its slate at the Hawthorn Suites Hokie Invitational, topping both St. John’s and no. 19 Clemson by the score of 2-1. Facing elite competition, the Hokie defense stifled the opposition while punching in timely scores.

The wins lift Virginia Tech’s record to 3-1-0.

Said head coach Oliver Weiss, “We played two very good teams and beat them. It should give us good momentum and confidence.”

Despite playing two games in 48 hours, the Hokies maintained enough energy to prevail as victors of the invitational. “They’re pretty professional when it comes to fitness,” said Weiss, “We’re very pleased; the guys played their hearts out. We opened up the bench a little and still got quality minutes from the guys who played a lot.”

The Hokies outlasted Clemson on Friday evening with a Ben Nason goal in the second overtime period. The shot came over 107 minutes into the match, and Tech would have to endure a quick turnaround when they battled St. John’s at 8 p.m. the next night.

The teams played a physical first half in drizzly conditions, with a heavy collision resulting in an early yellow card for the previous night’s hero, Nason.

Orange controlled the possession and tempo throughout the first 20 minutes, and it paid off when senior defender Marcus Reed knocked in the first goal in the 22nd minute. Junior Robert Edmans trapped the ball in front of the keeper and passed it right to Reed, who would nail it just inside the right post.

The match stagnated in the middle of the pitch for most of the next 30 minutes. Junior preseason All-American Patrick Nyarko created a couple scares for the opposition, but couldn’t put one through.

Then, out of nowhere, the 6-6 Brit from Essex ignited the crowd in the 59th minute. Edmans gave the Hokies an insurance goal in incredible fashion- a goal for the ages. A goal that Fox Sports Radio’s Jerry Massey described as “the greatest goal at Virginia Tech Soccer Stadium in a long time… and I’m talking years”.

Edmans received the ball near midfield and dodged a swarm of Red Storm defenders, before launching a rocket from 40 yards out. The shot seemed as if it would soar high and wide, but then snuck into the top right corner. Red Storm goalie Neal Kitson (six saves) didn’t have a chance.

Weiss agreed; “You don’t get to see those at all, really, in college soccer…that was an unbelievable shot.”

Edmans left the field on the next substitution with a wide grin on his face. “We wanted to pull back and there was no one else I had to pass to. So I just thought I’d have a shot and, luckily, it went in.”

However, the goal seemed to trigger energy inside the St. John’s players, who would control possession and tempo for the remainder of the match. In the 76th minute, they made a mark on the board when Joel Gusafsson dished to Jeff Stepan, who nailed a hard, low laser just outside of keeper Brendan Dunn’s reach.

This was an extremely rare occurrence, as Dunn, along with his defense, performed superbly this weekend, allowing only two goals in over 197 minutes play. His outstretched save off a corner kick in the 82nd minute quelled the Red Storm’s last serious scoring threat.

“Having Alexander Baden back this weekend was huge for us,” said Dunn, “He kind of controls the back and gives us our shape and vocal presence.”

Next up, Virginia Tech travels to Tulsa to face off in the Fox Soccer Channel’s men’s college game of the week this Friday at 8 p.m.