Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech men’s soccer team fell 4-0 to No. 16 Wake Forest tonight at Thompson Field. The loss drops the Hokies to 4-4-1 overall and 0-3-1 in the ACC, while Wake Forest moved to 6-1-3 on the season and 1-0-3 in league play.
The Demon Deacons came out quick with three shots and a pair of corners in the first three and a half minutes, but the Hokies responded with a pair of shots of their own just minutes later. Wake Forest’s Luca Gimenez though, responded to the Hokie attack by fending off a Tech defender in the Hokie box and slotting a shot inside the left post past Kyle Renfro in the eighth minute.
Wake Forest’s pressure continued throughout the half, firing off 14 shots to Tech’s three. Gimenez gave the Demon Deacons a 2-0 halftime lead with just under five minutes remaining. Sean Okoli hit a hard shot that was blocked by a Hokie defender, but Gimenez was in the right spot and put the rebound past Renfro.
Just over 10 minutes into the second half, Austin Stewart was called for a foul on a Wake Forest attacker in the box resulting in a penalty kick. Gimenez stepped up for the attempt and tucked it inside the right post past Renfro for his third goal of the match.
The Demon Deacons added to its lead in the 78th minute. Kyle Emerson sent a low left-to-right cross through the Hokie box that found Ross Tomaselli on the back post.
Wake Forest put seven more shots on the board in the second while Tech took four. Kyle Renfro had five saves on the night while Wake Forest keeper Michael Lisch had three. David Clemens and Drew Ranahan led the Hokies with two shots apiece.
“We knew that they would possess the ball,” Virginia Tech head coach Mike Brizendine said. “When you look at possession, they’re going to win that which is fine because you’re able to score on them when they leave spaces open. The couple times that we had gotten into those spaces, we did a good job.
“We just weren’t crisp tonight, but we have a very exciting October in front of us and we’re going to try and make the most of it.”
Tech steps out of conference play on Oct. 2 when the team travels to North Carolina to face Campbell at 7 p.m.