Hokie ClubBlacksburg, Va. - The Hokies dropped their second straight match, falling 4-2 to Central Florida on Tuesday at Thompson Field. Evan Slusser and Jed Prater buried their first goals of the season, but their effort fell short against the Golden Knights’ offensive pressure. Tech is now 4-9-1 on the season, while UCF is now 9-2-2.
UCF’s Warren Creavalle put the Knights up first, netting his fourth goal of the season on an open shot from inside the 18-yard box in the seventh minute. The Knights extended their lead in the 14th minute, when former Hokie Luiz Yamashita curved a shot in from the left side of the field for his third goal of the season.
Evan Slusser trimmed the Hokies’ defecit to 2-1, heading the ball off a Clarke Bentley corner kick. Slusser had two shots on the day. UCF’s Eduardo Jimenez knocked in the final goal of the half, his second of the season, bringing the lead to 3-1 off a shot from the very top of the 18-yard box. UCF outshot Tech in the first half 7-4.
The Golden Knights scored their fourth and final goal of the match, with A.J. Nelson finding the back of the net off a Steven Lamberta assist for his third goal of the season. In the 72nd minute, Jed Prater sunk his first goal of the season, after a flurry of quick passes at the top of the goalie’s box, bringing the score to 4-2. Tech ratcheted up the pressure in the second half, doubling their shot total from the first half, taking eight shots and eight corner kicks.
For the match, UCF barely outshot tech 13-12, with Tech taking 11 of the game’s 14 corner kicks. The Golden Knights’ Shawn Doyle earned the win at keeper, bringing his record to 9-2-2 on the season.
Tech follows this game up with a challenging ACC road contest, against No. 4 North Carolina on Friday Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.