Hokie ClubNORFOLK, Va. – Playing for the first time against outside competition since April, the Virginia Tech men’s soccer team opened the exhibition portion of their 2011 schedule with a 2-0 loss to Old Dominion tonight at the ODU Soccer Complex. The Monarchs tallied a goal early in each half to come away with the result.
The exhibition game allowed Head Coach Mike Brizendine and his staff to evaluate numerous players, as 18 Hokies saw playing time and only three, sophomore Devante Dubose, freshman Ben Strong and freshman Kevin Reitzel, played all 90 minutes.
After 6:04 of play, Old Dominion’s Gideon Asante opened the scoring when he finished from eight yards off a pass via Jordan LeBlanc.
Early in the second half, Asante again found the back of the net, this time unassisted, at 50:53, making the score 2-0, which would stand up as the final margin.
Sophomore Kyle Renfro started between the pipes for Tech and played the entire first half, making two saves. Freshman Hunter Maricle played the second 45 minutes and recorded a game-high four saves. Junior David Fiorello led the offense by tallying two of Tech’s six shots, one of which was on goal. Freshman Mike Wilkie also recorded a shot on frame for Tech.
The Monarchs, ranked 26th in the College Soccer News preseason poll and receiving votes in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) preseason poll, reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago. ODU outshot Tech, 17-6, and outcornered the Hokies, 11-4.
The Hokies continue exhibition play on Saturday, Aug. 20 when they host #13 William & Mary at 7:00 p.m. on International Night at Thompson Field. The first regular season game is Saturday, Aug. 27 when Tech hosts Howard at 7:00 p.m. The Hilton Garden Hokie Invitational is the following weekend, Sept. 2 and 4, as Tech welcomes Wisconsin, Cincinnati and Virginia to Blacksburg.