Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech women's soccer team opens the 2019 season with a pair of home matches this weekend. The No. 25 Hokies face Liberty on Thursday night before welcoming Cincinnati to Thompson Field for a Sunday afternoon contest.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Thursday, August 22 - 7 PM
Thompson Field, Blacksburg, Virginia
vs. Liberty Flames (0-0)
Head Coach: Lang Wedemeyer (3rd season, 20th overall)
Record at school: 16-18-3; career: 177-141-42
Series: Tech leads 8-1-0; Last: Sept. 10, 2006 (W, 2-0)
Live Stats: CLICK HERE
Broadcast: ACC Network Extra; Link: CLICK HERE
Liberty Game notes: Link
Sunday, August 25 - 1 PM
Thompson Field, Blacksburg, Virginia
vs. Cincinnati Bearcats (0-0)
Head Coach: Neil Stafford (7th season, 17th overall)
Record at school: 60-44-18; career: 162-115-37
Series: Tech leads 1-0-0; Last: Nov. 14, 2015 (W, 4-0)
Live Stats: CLICK HERE
Broadcast: ACC Network Extra; Link: CLICK HERE
Cincinnati Game notes: Link (when available)
Top Notes for the Hokies (link to Game Notes pdf packet)
Tech in season and home openers
- Overall, the Hokies are 16-7-3 in season openers, are unbeaten in 10 straight (9-0-1; had won nine straight before last year's season-opening 0-0 tie versus San Diego) and they are 7-0-1 under head coach Chugger Adair.
- In home openers, Tech is 7-0-1 under Adair and is unbeaten in 18 straight matches (14-0-4; had won 11 in a row before last year's home-opening tie) dating back to 2001. Overall, the team has posted a 20-2-4 mark in home openers, losing just the 1993 and 2000 home openers.
- The Hokies are unbeaten at 6-0-3 when their season opener coincides with their home opener.
- Over the past eight seasons under Adair, Tech has outscored its opponents 22-2 in season openers and hold a 28-3 edge in goal differential in home openers during the same span.
The Hokies versus this weekend's opponents (see more Page 2 of game notes)
- Combined, Tech is 9-1-0 versus Liberty and Cincinnati, with the majority of those wins coming against the Flames (8). However, those two teams have not faced each other in the regular season since 2006.
- Liberty and Tech have played scrimmages each of the last two falls, with both ending in ties - 0-0 last year in Lynchburg (Aug. 10) and a 1-1 draw against the Flames at Thompson Field on Aug. 8, 2017.
- In a 5-0 Hokie win over the Flames on Sept. 24, 2002, Kjersti Trout set Tech's single game school record for goals and points, when she scored four of the five goals for eight points in the victory.
- Cincinnati makes its first appearance in Blacksburg since its 2015 NCAA First Round match against the Hokies back on Nov. 14, which Tech won 4-0.
- Murielle Tiernan scored the game winner in the 25th minute, her 14th of the year, while Alani Johnson tallied back-to-back goals just over four minutes apart (53rd and 57th minute) to put the game away.
- Kaylyn Smith faced just three shots and had to make one save to record the shutout in goal.
The Hokies start the season ranked No. 25
- Tech is one of seven Atlantic Coast Conference programs to be ranked in the United Soccer Coaches' Preseason Top 25 poll, the organization announced Aug. 6.
- The Hokies check in at No. 25 after ending the 2018 season ranked 21st.
- It was the first time since the end of the 2015 campaign Tech was ranked at the end of the year and it's the first time the Hokies will open a season ranked since 2016, when they started out at No. 17.
- TopDrawerSoccer, which tabbed the Hokies the No. 23 program in the nation at the end of the 2018 season, has Tech listed as one of five programs in the "Others considered" category outside the Top 25.
- College Soccer 360, which does a "Composite Top-50", has Tech at No. 29.
The ONLY way to see Tech matches this season – other than in-person – is on the ACC Network. CLICK HERE to see if your provider is currently slated to carry the network.