Hokies open ACC action on Friday against Pitt

BLACKSBURG –  The Virginia Tech women’s soccer team will host Pittsburgh on Friday, Sept. 16, when the Hokies take on the Panthers in the first ACC match of the season at 5:00 p.m. at Thompson Field. Friday’s match against Pitt will air live on ACC Network Extra.

Sunday, September 16 – 5pm 

Thompson Field, Blacksburg, Virginia

vs. Pitt (7-1)

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Watch Live: CLICK HERE

• Back on the Pitch (6-1-1): Virginia Tech took down the Northern Colorado Bears on Sunday in a 5-2 match in Blacksburg. Freshman Natalie Mitchell scored the first goal of the game, followed by Sophie Maltese, Taylor Price, and Emma Pelkowski each scoring before the Bears, Hokies up 4-0. The Bears were able to squeak by and score two back-to-back goals in the 62nd minute. Allie George closed out the night with her first career goal in the 85th minute. The Hokies held the shot advantage throughout the entire game, 27-9. Goalkeeper Lauren Hargrove has notched three clean sheets this season at home. 

 

• Pitt has Mid-game Power (7-1): The Panthers last defeated Liberty on Sunday, Sept. 11 in a 3-2 game in Pittsburg. The Panthers have shown greater strength in the middle of the match, scoring three goals after 30 minutes into the game, their last goal in the 54th minute. Liberty scored the first goal of the game in the 10th minute, and the last goal of the game 63 minutes into the match. Pitt held the shot advantage at 23-9. Pitt faced a similar challenge against VCU being sent home defeated 3-2.  VCU scored the first (5:21) and last goal (88:33) of the game to take down the Panthers. Pitt had a shot advantage of 27-13 over VCU. The Panthers currently lead the conference in shots (185), goals (29), and assists (25). 

• Changing the Strategy:  While the Hokies have usually held the advantage in the second half, the team has started to even out their efforts in both. Tech has scored three of their last six goals in the first half, with an even number of shots in both halves. At the beginning of the season, the Hokies had been reliant on their strength in the second to win games. The Hokies trailed William and Mary 3-2 in the first half, but managed to pull out two goals in the final eight minutes to win the match. More recently, Tech went scoreless in the first half in a match against Charlotte before coming back to score three goals in the final 45 minutes. Versus South Carolina, the Hokies took more shots than their…