BLACKSBURG- The No. 23 Virginia Tech men’s soccer team (5-1-0) outlasted Longwood University (2-2-1) Tuesday night to advance to 5-1-0 on the season and 2-0-0 at home. Alessandro Mion had the lone Hokie goal of the night late in the second half.
The Hokies started the match against the Lancers strong, controlling possession during the first half. Tech took 19 shots but none were able to find the back of the net.
The Longwood goalie, Carlos Canas, showed up for the Lancers’ tonight saving ten shots on goal. Rory Slevin played well in the midfield, allowing Virginia Tech to keep the possession of the ball for the majority of the second half. As the two teams fought back and forth, the ball did not find its way into the net until the 79th minute. Senior Alessandro Mion scored his first goal of the season off a free kick by Slevin. The free kick was awarded after Longwood’s Marten Pajunurm received a yellow card.
The Hokies are home again on Friday as they host NC State. The ACC home opener is set for 6 p.m.
Head Coach Mike Brizendine
-“Tonight, we found ourselves in a dog fight. Full credit to Longwood. I think they did a great job. They came here with a solid game plan and gave us trouble defensively.”
-“I want to commend Longwood’s goalie Canas on a great job tonight. He had a few really good saves to hold us to one goal.”
-“We had 26 shots tonight and only one goal. That tells me we need to be cleaner up front.”
-“I am happy that we were able to get a win and a shutout midweek. Now, we turn our focus to a very difficult NC State team coming to Blacksburg this Friday.”
Notes
-Halftime shots: VT 19-2
-Final shots: VT 26-7
-VT previously avg. 14.8 shots a game
-Ben Lundgaard’s fourth shutout, 13th career
-Attendance: 327
-CKs: VT 11-2
-Marcelo Acuna led in shots (8)