Hokie ClubCOLUMBUS, Ohio- The Virginia Tech men’s soccer team (1-0-0) upset No. 18 Ohio State University (0-1-0) 1-0 in double overtime Friday night. Marcelo Acuna, during his Hokie debut, scored the game-winning goal in the 107th minute off a header from Mion. A crowd of 1, 979 packed Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium to watch the Hokies upset the Buckeyes.
The opening match of the 2016 season was a game of back-and-forth during regulation. The Buckeyes applied pressure during the first half to be stopped by the strong Tech defense. Alessandro Mion and Will Mejia sparked the backend to hold off the Buckeyes.
The Hokies came out strong after halftime with five straight shots. Som Essome came close with a cross that skated along the goal line to travel wide. Taking the corner kicks for the Hokies, Elias Tamburini always seemed to find Mejia’s head. Mejia had two headers go high off corner kicks. The end of the second half remained scoreless to send the game into overtime.
Marcelo Acuna, in his Hokie debut, started overtime off strong with two shots in the first two minutes. Tech held the Buckeyes 13-9 on shots but ended up sending the match into double overtime. In the 107th minute, Acuna scored his first goal of the season off a header from Mion. Ben Lundgaard recorded his tenth career shutout in the upset.
Head Coach Mike Brizendine Quotes
-“To be able to get a road victory like this against such a quality team is a huge team accomplishment.”
-“There is no doubt that this was a team effort. It was hot out on the field and for the team to fight through double overtime to win shows their determination to fight.”
-“I thought that our back four defenders were tremendous tonight.”
Notes
-Tech backend sparked by Alessandro Mion, Will Mejia and Ben Lundgaard
-Lundgaard with his 10th career shutout
-James Kasak, Nico Quashie, Brendan Moyers make collegiate debut
-1,979 in attendance for the Wolstein Classic
- Tech opened the second period with five straight shots and overtime with two straight shots
-Led OSU 14-9 in shots
-Last season opening win was 2014 against SIU-Edwardsville