BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech men's soccer team has travelled to the Sunshine State for two matches this weekend, where the Hokies will look to continue their good form to open the season. After two victories, both by a 2-1 margin over Air Force and Gardner-Webb, Tech will match up with two teams from the American Athletic Conference this upcoming weekend.
On Friday, August 31 Tech takes on the USF Bulls at 7 p.m., followed by a trip to UCF on Sunday afternoon (2 p.m.).
night's contest will pin the undefeated Hokies against the University of South Florida, a team that has had Tech's number in the past, in the first of two games against American Athletic Conference opponents.
Sunday afternoon, the Hokies will travel north to Orlando to take on Central Florida in a matchup that has not been replicated since 2010, when the Hokies fell 4-2 at home.
The Hokies
Tech is coming off a of a great opening weekend, starting the season 2-0 after defeating Air Force and Gardner-Webb last weekend at the JMU Invitational.
Tech's win against Air Force featured transfer Marc Hoppler's first appearance and the Swiss international made it a debut to remember, scoring Tech's first goal of the season from a James Kasak cross. Then, after Air Force tied it at one, Nico Quashie scored two minutes into the second half to secure the victory for the Hokies.
Goalkeeper Mathjis Swaneveld in his first game in maroon and orange came up with three saves
The second match saw Gardner-Webb push the Hokies to double overtime before Hoppler found the net again, turning in a Kasak corner. Freshman Chris Little scored the first goal of his young career in the 64th minute to draw the sides level.
Kasak has recorded three assists through the first two matches, the most by any player in the conference.
The Bulls (0-2)
South Florida suffered two losses to open the season in the first weekend of competition, falling to two nationally ranked programs, Michigan State and Michigan.
The Bulls are led by sophomore, Adrian Billhardt, who tallied five goals and six assists in 2017, as well as senior goalkeeper Christian Knight, who notched 53 saves last season.
The Hokies and Bulls have met six times previously, with USF winning four of those contests. The most recent meeting was a 4-1 Tech victory at Thompson Field in 2016.
Kickoff at Corbett Stadium is slated for Friday at 7 p.m.
The Knights (1-1)
UCF got their season started with a win in University Park, Pennsylvania defeating Penn State by a 2-1 margin in overtime. Ricardo Oliveros scored the game winner while Louis Perez tied the match for the Knights.
In their second contest of the season, UCF fell to UC Irvine by a score of 1-0.
Tech last played against UCF in 2010 falling 4-2. Overall the Hokies lead the series 2-1-1.
Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. on Sunday, September 2 at the UCF Soccer Complex.