CHESTER, Pa. – Holding on to a one-goal lead 78 minutes into its match against Villanova, the Virginia Tech women's soccer team scored a pair of insurance goals seven minutes apart and defeated the Wildcats 3-0 Friday evening at Talen Energy Stadium – the home of the MLS's Philadelphia Union – for the program's 250th career win.
The Hokies (3-1-3) got on the board in the 59th minute when Kelsey Irwin headed in a corner kick from Emily Gray to put Tech up 1-0, the first of two for Irwin in the contest.
In the 79th minute, Karlie Johnson tapped in a cross for her team-leading third goal of the season as it came off assists from Lilly Weber and Mikayla Mance. In the 86th minute, Villanova committed a foul about 30 yards out to the left side of the keeper and Irwin drilled home the free kick to put the game away.
Irwin becomes the first Hokie with a multi-goal game since Oct. 9, 2016 when Murielle Tiernan scored a pair of goals in a 3-2 victory at Boston College. For Irwin, she now has four career goals, her first game winner, and it was her first goal since Sept. 9, 2016 versus Indiana.
Tech outshot Villanova (4-3-0) 21-9 in the contest, including a 9-3 edge in shots on goal. The Hokies' goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn made three saves to record the clean sheet, her third of the year, 15th of her career.
FROM COACH ADAIR
"We are pleased and proud of the girls tonight. I think we played well from start to finish and created a number of chances early, really setting the tempo and tone for the match. I thought it took a little while for us to find the net, but excited once we did. To put three goals up and get the shutout – that's a really nice night for us. We're happy for the win and happy with the opportunity to play in Talen Stadium, a really nice facility such as this, and we're looking forward to coming home to Blacksburg and playing ETSU on Monday night."
OF NOTE
- With the win, not only was it Tech's 250th victory in program history, but it gives Adair 98 in his head coaching career.
- All-time, Tech is now 2-3-0 against Villanova, but has won back-to-back matches – the last win was a 4-1 victory on Sept. 10, 2010.
- Tech remains undefeated in nine matches played on Sept. 7 (9-0-0) and has outscored its opponents 23-5 in those contests.
- Jaylyn Thompson started her 35th straight match for Tech, the longest consecutive streak on the team, while Mandy McGlynn has the second longest at 26.
- Two Hokies have played all 690 minutes of the season: McGlynn and Irwin.
- Five Hokies have started all seven matches this year: the two above, Jordan Hemmen, Gray and Thompson.
- For Gray and Mance, they both notched their team-leading second assist of the year, while it was Weber's first of 2018. Mance and Weber each now have four in their careers.
UP NEXT
Tech returns home for its final nonconference match before starting ACC action next Friday against Virginia. The Hokies will face ETSU on Monday night at Thompson Field with kickoff set for 7 p.m.