The final whistle blew on the No. 16 Virginia Tech men's soccer team's 2-0 victory close to 11:30 p.m. Tuesday after lightning delayed the match by some two hours in the first half but 10th year Head Coach Mike Brizendine and his Hokies won't mind the late arrival back to campus after advancing to 4-0-2 on the season.
That unblemished mark is noteworthy as the Hokies are yet to play a competitive match on Thompson Field in 2018. An unusual schedule has seen Tech play at a neutral site to begin the season, followed by four consecutive road games, but credit coach Brizendine and his relatively young squad for finding a way to get results. After all, Tuesday's win was the first match decided by more than one goal.
Captain Jon Ingason fired Tech into the lead in the sixth minute from a free kick earned by Marc Hoppler as he skipped away from his defender. The Iceland native's effort took a small deflection from the wall and beat the keeper, Ingason's first collegiate goal which saw the Hokies take the lead.
Nearly 10 minutes later, play was suspended due to lightning in the area and the threat of severe weather, already the third game of Tech's season to feature such a delay. The team's spent about two hours inside their respective locker rooms before the all-clear was given and play could resume.
The Hokies thought they had doubled the lead when Hoppler swung in a cross that found a diving Brendan Moyers' head. Spartan keeper Ricky Zarri made an excellent save to keep the score at 1-0.
Greensboro threatened Mathijs Swaneveld's goal several times, forcing five saves from the big Dutchman who was equal to every challenge including defending a series of corner kicks in short succession and making a double save on two Spartan efforts.
In the 85th minute Tech Nico Quashie slammed the door shut on the Spartans latching onto a flicked header from Kristo Strickler in behind the defense. The junior forward took a touch around the goalkeeper and found the back of the net, angling towards the corner flag to celebrate with his teammates after adding an insurance goal, his second strike of the season.
OF NOTE
- Tech jumped up five spots in the United Soccer Coaches Poll Tuesday after last week's tie versus ACC foe Virginia
- Junior Nikal Clarke-Smith earned his first start of his Virginia Tech career after logging his first minutes in the last match. He is a junior college transfer from Louisburg College.
- The Hokies remain undefeated through six games for the second time in three seasons. The other time was 2016 when the Hokies made a run all the way to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Championships