Virginia Tech's first contest of the 2020 season was spoiled by No. 2 Pittsburgh Saturday night, as the Panthers stopped the Hokies comeback to earn a 4-2 victory.
The Hokies (0-1-0, 0-1-0), bid for an upset got off to a slow start as the Panthers (3-0-0, 3-0-0) got on the board within the first four minutes through Veljko Petkovic's strike from the top of the box.
Tech responded aggressively as Kristo Strickler and Jacob Labovitz both saw chances inside the box in the opening 10 minutes. In the 14th minute Kyle McDowell's long throw-in into the box found the head of Labovitz, who in turn located Stricker as he fired the ball to the bottom right to tie the game up at 1-1. The Hokies had a chance to quickly take the lead in the 19th minute, but Pitt's Nico Campuzano's diving save kept the contest knotted up.
The Panthers would retake the lead in the 26th minute when Valentin Noel latched onto a pass at the penalty mark, firing it high and right into the back of the net. Both teams would remain aggressive throughout the remainder of the period, but neither was able to get on the board.
An early second-half goal in the 49th minute by Alexander Dexter doubled the Panther's lead. Tech continued to be aggressive offensively, but was not able to capitalize on their chances.
The Hokies would cut the lead to one in the 86th minute as Kahlil Dover's through ball found Strickler, who was able to tap it in to the near post. Tech had a chance to level the contest a minute later off a corner, but Labovitz's header just sailed over the crossbar. In the 88th Noel would put the match to bed with a near post finish to make it 4-2
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Shots: Virginia Tech 14-10
- Corners: Virginia Tech 5-3
- Saves: Pittsburgh 6-3
GAME NOTES
- Matt Zambetti, Kyle McDowelll and Mayola Kinyua made their first career starts as Hokies
- Strickler recorded the sixth multi-goal game of his career
- Tech lost its first season opener since falling to UNCG 0-1 in 2015
UP NEXT
The Hokies return to Blacksburg for their first home match of the season on Wednesday, October 14th at 8:00 p.m. as they host Virginia. That game will be broadcast on ACC Network.
Tech is 0-3-2 in their last five matches against the Cavaliers with the last matchup in 2019 resulting in a 0-2 loss.Gallery: (10-10-2020) 2020 MEN'S SOCCER at PITT