Early goals have been a theme in Virginia Tech men's soccer matches so far in 2019. In the season opener, Tech got on the board in 58 seconds and Sunday, both squads had found the back of the net by the 7:11 mark.
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos capitalized on an errant pass in the fifth minute of the game and got into the box where a cross was played in and forward Ameyawu Muntari poked it into the net to open the scoring, before Jon Ingason leveled the match four minutes later with a beautifully curled dipping free kick from about 25 yards. It was the captain's fifth career goal, after scoring four in 2018 – all from set pieces.
The sixteenth-ranked Hokies would go on to earn a comfortable 3-1 victory, the first result for an away side at Harder Stadium since 2017.
UCSB fell to 1-1 on the young season.
In the second half, the Hokies had the better of possession and used it to good effect, creating chances. A good number of attacks came from the left flank, patrolled by James Kasak. The Stuarts Draft, Virginia native created a goal for Tech in the 66thminute when he got into the box and fired a low, hard cross into the box, intended for Jacob Labovitz that ricocheted off of a defender's boot and into the net.
Ten minutes later, Labovitz would be at the heart of the action again when he got on the sheet for the first time in his Virginia Tech career. The move started with an Ingason free kick that was headed into the corner if it were not for UCSB's keeper Ben Roach who got a hand to it. The ball deflected to about the six-yard box where a host of players tried to get a piece of it, with the ball ultimately falling at the feet of Labovitz who made no mistake.
In goal, Mathijs Swaneveld was credited with four saves.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Gauchos had one more shot than the Hokies (15-14) but only managed four on target to Tech's nine.
- Tech had five corner kicks, and UCSB earned nine.
- Kristo Strickler took two shots, both on target, Roach saved both attempts.
- In all 16 Hokies hit the field Sunday night.
GAME NOTES
- Midfielder Sivert Haugli was back in the lineup Sunday after missing out on the Hokies' season opening victory.
- The Hokies started two freshmen, Daniel Pereira and Nick Blacklock once again. They were the only underclassmen to feature in the match for Tech.
- The win brings Brizendine's career total to 100, with 73 of those coming at Virginia Tech.
UP NEXT
Tech will travel back to the east coast tomorrow and prepare for the Fairfield Inn by Marriott JMU Invitational next weekend. The Hokies will take on Loyola at 4 p.m. on Friday, September 6 and Hofstra on Sunday at 4 p.m. in Harrisonburg.