Hokie ClubVirginia Tech (3-2-0, 0-1-0) vs. Boston College (2-2-0, 0-1-0)
Friday, Sept. 14 • 7 p.m.
Thompson Field • Blacksburg, Va.
SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE
• Boston College is coming off of its second loss of the season, a 4-0 result at home against No. 3 Maryland.
• The four goals were one more than BC had allowed through its first three games.
• Senior foward Kevin Mejia leads the Eagkes attack with a two goals on the year including a the game-winner in a 1-0 game at Fairfield.
• Goalkeeper Justin Luthy returns for his final season at BC. The senior is currently in the school’s top five for career saves, shutouts and minutes, while already earning the most wins in program history.
• The Eagles returned three 2011 All-ACC performers in midfielder Kyle Bekker (first team), defender Chris Ager (second team) and Diego Medina-Mendez (freshmen team).
SERIES HISTORY
• Boston College leads the all-time series with 8-1-1 record.
• The Hokies lone win came in 2003 at BC in 2-1 double overtime game when the two sides were part of the BIG EAST.
• A 1-1 draw occurred two years later in Blacksburg, Va., when both schools were a part of the ACC.
• Last season’s matchup was a shootout of sorts, ending in 4-3 overtime win for the No. 11 Eagles in Newton, Mass. Tech took an early 1-0 lead behind goal by David Clemens, but BC struck three times in a span of less than seven minutes in the first half. The Hokies rebounded with goals in the 48th minute by Jed Prater and 73rd minute by Ben Strong to ultimately send the match to overtime, but BC’s Charlie Rugg scored the game-winning goal less than three minutes into the extra period.
HOKIES IN YOUR HOME
For fans looking to catch a game live, but can’t attend, nine Hokie matches will broadcast live either online or on TV throughout the 2012 season.
Hokies All-Access
• Aug. 26 vs. Richmond, 2:30 p.m.
• Sept. 14 vs. Boston College, 7:00 p.m.
• Sept. 28 vs. Wake Forest, 7:00 p.m.
• Oct 23 vs. Radford, 7:00 p.m.
ESPN3
• Sept. 8 at North Carolina, 7:00 p.m.
• Now. 1 at Clemson, 7:00 p.m.
ACCDN on YouTube
• Sept. 21 at Maryland, 7:30 p.m.
• Oct. 12 vs. NC State, 7:00 p.m.
RSN
• Oct. 19 at Virginia, 6:30 p.m.
JUST GIVE THEM THE LEAD
• In all three of Hokies wins this season, they’ve scored first.
• All three games have resulted in shutouts.
• With Kyle Renfro and Hunter Maricle in goal, and a defensive unit led by center backs Devante Dubose and Drew Ranahan, Tech has held its opponents scoreless for 145-plus minutes after the squad has scored the game’s opening goal.
HOKIE WALL
• Goalkeeper Kyle Renfro has started this season where he left off last year. After leading the ACC with 100 saves in 2011, the junior currently leads the conference in saves per game (4.60) is second in saves (23). He is also third in the league in save percentage (.821), shutouts (2) and shutouts per game (.40).
• Currently, his career goals against average of 1.16 is 0.04 behind the school record set by current Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Chase Harrison.
• His seven career shutouts is three away from cracking the school’s top five.
445:02
• The Hokies have kept their opposition from finding the net for a total of 445:02 minutes this season.
• All five goals allowed this season were surrendered during two stretches that total less than five minutes. The Hokies allowed SIUE to score three goals in span of three minutes and eight seconds in the season opener while North Carolina’s Martin Murphy scored twice one minute and 52 seconds.
OFFENSIVE HOKIES
• Through the first three matches of the season, the Hokies only had three goals with three different goal scorers. Drew Hartell and Connor Pompilio tallied their first goals of the season on Sept. 2 versus St. Bonaventure as David Clemens and Daniel Lauretano scored their second goals of the year in the 4-0 victory.
• The last time Tech defeated a team by four goals or more was nearly two years ago in a 7-2 win over Howard on Sept. 14, 2010.
• Through four games, Clemens had equaled his scoring output from a year ago when he played in 10 games.
• After coming in as a substitute in the first game, Lauretano recorded his first goal as a Hokie against SIU-Edwardsville. Three starts later, the freshmen tallied his second goal on the year.
MINUTE MEN
• David Clemens, DeVante DuBose, David Fiorello, Jed Prater, Drew Ranahan, Kyle Renfro and Ben Strong have put in 415-plus minutes each this season for the Hokies through five games.
• DuBose and Fiorello lead the team, playing every minute thus far.
• Prater, Ranahan, Renfro and Strong led Tech in minutes logged a season ago. The four amassed more than 6,969 minutes in 19 games.
LEARNING ON THE FLY
• Tech has 16 players this season who have been in the program for less than two years. With David Fiorello being the lone senior on the 2012 squad, and only seven upperclassmen in all.
• Seven underclassmen have totaled more than 150 minutes this season, while five have logged 250-plus minutes
• Sophomore Ben Strong leads all underclassmen with 433 minutes played while freshman Daniel Lauretano leads all freshmen with 367 minutes.
ACC TEST
• The Hokies are amidst a grueling conference test in which the team will take on the top five teams in the conference according to the latest NSCAA rankings.
• Tech opened the ACC season with 2-0 defeat at No. 1 North Carolina on Sept. 8 and hosts Boston College at Thompson Field on Sept. 14. The Eagles are currently receiving votes after opening the season ranked No. 14.
• On Sept. 21, the Hokies travel to College Park, Md., to face No. 3 Maryland before hosting a No. 15 Wake Forest a week later.
• Tech will step out of conference play the following week before it hosts No. 18 NC State on Oct. 12 which will stream live on the ACC Digital Network’s YouTube page.
AMONG THE BEST
• The Atlantic Coast Conference has traditionally been one of the nation’s top conferences in men’s soccer and this year is no different. Currently four schools (North Carolina, Maryland, Wake Forest, North Carolina State) are ranked in the NSCAA’s top 25, which is the second-most of any conference behind the Big East’s six.
• The league began the season with three teams ranked in the NSCAA’s top 25 preseason poll which was second behind the Big East’s four.
CAPTAINS
• Senior David Fiorello will finish out his Tech career as a three-time team captain for the Hokies, while junior Jed Prater will join him for his first time in the role.
DON’T I KNOW YOU?
• The center back pairing of DeVante DuBose and Drew Ranahan played high school soccer at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, Calif.
• Redshirt freshmen Hunter Byrnes and Drew Hartell were high school teammates at F.W. Cox High School in Virginia Beach. They also both played club soccer for Beach FC.
• Freshmen Kai Marshall and Shane Rose played for Albemarle High School in Charlottesville, Va., while also playing club soccer for SOCA Lightning.
• Despite going to high schools more than 300 miles apart, freshmen Hunter Jecius and Deven Mason played club soccer together for New Mexico Rush Nike Argonauts ‘94 which is located in Albuquerque, N.M.