Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech women's soccer team returns to Thompson Field Saturday night with just four matches remaining in the regular season. This final stretch run starts with a three-game homestand and No. 3 North Carolina, before welcoming Notre Dame (Thursday, Oct. 18) and Clemson (Sunday, Oct. 21) to Blacksburg.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Saturday, October 13 - 7 PM
Thompson Field, Blacksburg, Virginia
vs. No. 3 North Carolina Tar Heels (11-2-1, 6-0-0 ACC)
Head Coach: Anson Dorrance (40th season)
Record at school: 837-72-39; career: same
Series: 17th meeting; UNC leads 14-2-0
Live Stats: CLICK HERE
Broadcast: ACC Network Extra; Link: CLICK HERE
Top Notes for the Hokies (link to Game Notes pdf packet)
Tech will finish off regular season with three-game homestand before match at Louisville
- The Hokies return to Thompson Field Saturday night with just four matches remaining in the regular season. This final stretch run starts with a three-game homestand and No. 3 North Carolina, before welcoming Notre Dame (Thursday, Oct. 18) and Clemson (Sunday, Oct. 21) to Blacksburg.
- Tech will finish off its four-ranked opponents in five-match streak against the Tar Heels, a string that started with the Hokies' 1-0 win over No. 6 Virginia on Sept. 27. The win marked the team's first victory over a top 10 program since Nov. 8, 2013 (vs. No. 1 Virginia, 4-2 in the ACC Championship semifinal).
- Prior to this year's victory, the Hokies had not beaten a ranked foe in 14 matches - since Oct. 4, 2015, when Tech went on the road and beat No. 22 Duke (4-2). The team was 0-9-5 between the two wins.
- All-time, the Hokies are 29-82-13 (28.6 win percentage) against ranked foes, but have been better under Adair over the past eight seasons at 16-35-7 (33.6), prior they were 13-47-6 (24.2).
- This will be the 17th all-time meeting against North Carolina. See more on page 2 of the game notes.
Final stretch run fraught with postseason implications
- Tech currently sits in a tie with Florida State for seventh in the ACC standings with nine points - eight teams make the ACC Championship tournament. UNC currently holds the top spot with 18 points, Clemson and Louisville are tied at fourth with 12 and Notre Dame is currently outside looking in with six.
- When it comes to the NCAA Championship tournament, much is made of RPI, and Tech entered the week with a solid RPI of 33. UNC, again, is in a great spot at No. 6, while the final three opponents for the Hokies are also vying for a postseason spot, with Clemson at 35, Louisville at 41 and Notre Dame at 42.
- The next four matches for the Hokies will certainly decide their fate when it comes to postseason play.
You score first, you win. Pretty simple, right?
- This season in Tech matches, only once did the team that scored the day's first goal not go on to win the match, and that was then-No. 22 Georgetown, which resulted in a 1-1 draw back on Aug. 19.
- Since then, the team that scored the contest's first goal is 11-0, with the Hokies holding a 7-0 record while the opponents are 4-0, with one double overtime 0-0 tie in the mix.
- Going one step further, the team that has scored the first goal has actually shutout their opponent in that match. In eight straight outings, the team that has won has also recorded a clean sheet.
- That is the second longest such stretch in Tech history, with the longest being nine straight matches during the 2005 season (Sept. 9 - Oct. 6), when the Hokies posted a 4-5 mark.
- However, the last 10 matches the Hokies have played at least one team has been shut out, including the double overtime contest. There has never been a string like that before in Tech's history.
- To sum up, when the Hokies score a goal, they are 7-0-1 this season, when they don't they are 0-4-2.