Tech Men’s Soccer Edges California 3-2; Sweet Sixteen Awaits

Virginia Tech's Patrick Nyarko dribbles past a California defender during Wednesday night's matchup between the Hokies and the Golden Bears.
STAFF PHOTO BY BRIAN SEWELL

Charlie Campbell is lifted off his feet by teammates after scoring his second goal of the night.
STAFF PHOTO BY BRIAN SEWELL

In a match that featured scoring chances aplenty, Charlie Campbell capitalized twice in the second half to help Tech prevail against PAC-10 champion California, 3-2. The eleventh seeded Hokies now advance to the NCAA Championship round of 16.

“This is one of the proudest moments so far,” said Tech coach Oliver Weiss after earning the first NCAA tournament victory of his tenure, “But again, we need to calm ourselves down and go on to the next step.”

Tech prevailed victorious with the help of 1,417 strong that braved a brisk night featuring temperatures dipping into the thirties. They’ll be treated to more home cooking when Tech Soccer Stadium, where the Hokies are undefeated this season, hosts cross state neighbor Old Dominion on Sunday.

“I think it may have been the difference tonight to play in front of a home crowd against a very good California team,” Weiss spoke of a team that, while unseeded in the NCAAs, ranked 17th in the final NSCAA/adidas Coaches Poll and defeated UC Davis to advance to the second round.

Tech controlled possession and tempo for most of the first half, much adieu to the constant scoring threat All-ACC first-teamer Patrick Nyarko posed to the Golden Bear defense. Nyarko, who was named a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist for the best college soccer athlete in America, danced through the penalty box for much of the first twenty minutes; narrowly missing on a shot he chipped over the keeper in the 20th minute.

In the 25th minute, the Hokies best opportunity fell almost literally into their lap, when a Nyarko shot ricocheted out of the box, through the air, and into the welcoming right cleat of senior captain Ben Nason. Cal keeper Stefan Frei (5 saves) didn’t stand a chance, as the second-team All-ACC midfielder’s rocket crashed through the top right corner.

However, California (12-6-2) would steal the momentum from then on into halftime. The Golden Bears created many open looks in Tech’s box, but was unable to capitalize on any of them. At the half, California had out shot the Hokies 7-2, yet trailed 1-0.

“The first half was where we needed to have this game tied,” said Cal coach Kevin Grimes, “But it just wasn’t the case. We did not finish those opportunities and they took advantage of it.”

This was perfectly illustrated when, amidst a flurry of California near misses, Tech defensemen Marcus Reed found Campbell at the end of a relay of passes inside California’s box. Campbell’s searing grounder hit Frei before turning into a two-goal lead (56th).

However, Cal finally capitalized moments later after Javier Ayala-Hil speared in a cross to the goalie box from Andrew Wiedeman (59th).

While California missed tying attempts left and right, the Hokies surged to reclaim momentum midway through the second half. Nyarko, Cambpell, and numerous others repeatedly stampeded into Cal territory, refusing to allow Frei to blink without missing another run.

This resurgence culminated when Campbell virtually closed out the match with an 85th minute goal.

“Patrick dribbled through a couple guys on the end line and I waited on the six, and he just got it to me,” said Campbell, who was assisted by Nyarko on both goals.

Weiss spoke of his team’s ability to shift into a higher gear for the match’s stretch run, “The urgency was there…When we force guys to play in short areas, intercept the ball, and go on the ‘counterattack’, we’re impossible stop…We made simple errors from fatigue, but when that momentum shift was over and California didn’t get those opportunities right around the middle of the second half, we got that third goal and got the win

Ayala-Hil would score on another assist from Wiedeman in the 90th minute, but it was too little too late.

The Hokies recovered to outshoot the Golden Bears 8-6 when it mattered most- in the second half.

Nason glad this year’s team has the depth to accomplish this, ” Well, I got lucky, I guess, hurting my knee my junior year, so I got to stick around and probably play with the best group of guys we've had in the program… I never had a postseason win. This year, we have two. It's a testament to our team. We are different. We're deeper.”

Tech now looks to its first NCAA quarterfinal appearance on home turf this Sunday at 1 p.m. against Old Dominion.