Hokies travel to Raleigh to take on No. 22 NC State

BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech women’s soccer team will travel to Raleigh, N.C. to take on North Carolina State on Thursday, Sept. 22 at 7:00 p.m. Thursday’s match against NC State will air live on ACC Network Extra. Virginia Tech leads the series against NC State 10-5-1. 

Thursday, September 8 – 6pm 

Dail Soccer Stadium, Raleigh, N.C.

vs. NC State (6-1-3, 1-0) 

Live Stats: CLICK HERE

Watch Live: CLICK HERE

•On the Comeback (6-2-1, 0-1): Virginia Tech started the season off strong going 5-0-1 in their first six matches. The Hokies fell short to Pitt (4-1) in last Friday’s game at Thompson Field, the team’s second loss of the season. The Panthers were able to come out with an early lead in the third minute of the match to score 1-0. The Hokies were able to respond with a penalty kick goal from Emmalee McCarter in the 39th minute, McCarter’s first goal of the season. Pittsburgh pulled ahead quickly with three goals in eight minutes, finishing the match 4-1. The Hokies were able to hold a shot advantage over Pittsburgh throughout the match 19-15.  Goalkeeper Lauren Hargrove blocked eight of 12 shots on goal. 

• Last 15 Minutes (6-1-3, 1-0):  #22 NC State defeated Wake Forest in a 2-1 comeback victory on Sunday in Raleigh. Trailing 1-0 at the half, the Wolfpack came back in the final 13 minutes to win the game 2-1. Alexis Strickland scored the game-winning goal in the 83rd minute, her third goal of the season. Similarly, NC State was able to secure the win over Elon with a goal in the 77th minute (2-1). The Wolfpack defeated VCU 2-1 with lead scorer Jameese Joseph scoring in the 86th minute. NC State has scored 16 goals this season with an even amount of goals in each half.  The Hokies know how to put pressure on in the final minutes of the match, defeating Elon (5-1) with a goal in the 84th minute. Emma Pelkowski scored the game goal against William and Mary in the 83rd minute of the game (4-3). 

• Evenly Matched Players: Goalkeepers Lauren Hargrove (Tech) and Maria Echezarreta (NC State) are currently tied for third in the ACC rankings for the number of saves. Both players have saved 27 shots this season with Hargrove averaging 3.38 saves per game, compared to Echezarreta who is averaging 2.70 saves per game. Natalie Mitchell (Hokies) and Jameese Joseph (Wolfpack) are closely matched in the ACC in number of shots. Joseph is currently ranked second with 37 shot averaging 3.70 shots per game,…