BLACKSBURG – The 10th seeded Virginia Tech men's soccer team rallied from an early deficit to defeat New Hampshire 4-1 Sunday afternoon in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.
It was a back-and-forth affair in the opening minutes of play as both teams saw several scoring opportunities, but it was New Hampshire that was first to crack the scoreboard. Jacob Gould found himself with a sliver of space 20 yards out and was able to put a shot low into the near post in the 16th minute.
Tech would respond one minute later when a throw-in from Jacob Labovitz connected with head of Kristo Strickler, who was able to place the ball into the near post.
For the remainder of the half, the Hokies were in a groove as pace-of-play and possession was in their favor. Tech would take the lead for good in the 34th minute when a free kick by Daniel Pereira was headed in by Strickler for his second goal of the day.
The Hokies final goal of the half came in the 38th minute from the leg of James Kasak. The senior dribbled past two defenders and rocketed a shot that was deflected off the hands of New Hampshire's Alejandro Robles and into the far post.
In the second half, Tech would use stout defense to swelter New Hampshire and make them earn every opportunity.
The Hokies would score their fourth and final goal of the day in the 73rd minute on a counter opportunity that saw Labovitz find Camron Lennon for a breakaway goal, his first of the season.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Shots: New Hampshire 17-14
- Corners: Even 6-6
- Saves: Virginia Tech 7-4
GAME NOTES
- The Hokies have now recorded four consecutive seasons of 10-plus wins.
- Tech is headed to the round of 16 for the fourth time in program history and the third time under head coach Mike Brizendine.
- The Hokies now have a 6-3 record under Brizendine in the NCAA Tournament
- Strickler tallied his third multi-goal game of the season.
- Lennon's goal was also the first of his career.
- Tech is now 7-1 on the season against non-conference opponents.
- Labovitz tallied a career-high two assists on the day
UP NEXT
The Hokies will head out West as they will face seventh seeded Stanford Sunday, December 1 at 8 p.m. ET.
Gallery: (11/24/2019) 2019 MEN'S SOCCER NCAA SECOND ROUND GAME