Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech men’s soccer team used goals from newcomers Som Essome and Collin Verfurth to propel the Hokies to a 2-0 victory over Wright State on Tuesday evening at Thompson Field. Tech moves to 2-0 in exhibition matches thus far.
“It’s nice to always play at home. We’re glad to be back. I thought it was a very difficult game for us against an athletic Wright State team,” explained head coach Mike Brizendine. “I’m pleased that we were able to score a couple of goals and keep a clean sheet, but the most important thing is that we got to figure out a lot of our players. There were a couple of guys who stepped up and I’m very pleased with that.”
The Hokies opened up the scoring in the 41st minute after a series of deflections led to a goal. Sophomore Niels Kirch hit the initial shot that caromed off of the post. After that, several Hokies tried to put the ball in the net but it was sophomore Som Essome who hit it home to give the Hokies the 1-0 lead.
Tech doubled their tally in the 72nd minute after junior Daniel Lauretano played a beautiful lofted ball into the box. Freshman Collin Verfurth got his head to the ball and nodded it past an outstretched Wright State goalkeeper to make the score 2-0.
That’s how the game would end. The Hokies held a 13-8 advantage in shots. Tech played three goalkeepers in the match, senior Ben Lockler, freshman Morten Lamps and freshman Ben Lundgaard. Lamps and Lundgaard made one save a piece while Lockler was not forced to make any.
“We know we still have a long way to go though. We’re going to taper down a little bit to prepare for a tough ETSU exhibition before we enter the regular season,” concluded Brizendine.
Tech returns to action at Thompson Field on Saturday evening when the Hokies host ETSU at 7 p.m. in its final preseason exhibition before heading to SIUE on August 29 for the season opener.