NEWTON, Mass. – After a scoreless first half, it was another three-goal second-half output for the Virginia Tech women's soccer team which gave the Hokies a 3-0 victory over the host Boston College Eagles on Sunday afternoon at Newton Soccer Complex and the victory secured Tech's spot in the upcoming ACC Championship.
The Hokies (5-7-0, 4-4-0 ACC), who needed a three-goal second half effort Thursday night at Wake Forest to keep their postseason chances alive, battled the Eagles to a scoreless draw through the first 45 minutes as each team managed just three shots each.
Boston College (1-7-0, 1-7-0 ACC) took the first two shots out of the locker rooms, including a nine-yard strike from Jenna Bike in the 56th minute that Tech goalkeeper Alia Skinner dove to her left to make the save – one of her two on the day.
The save was almost a momentum changer for the Hokies, as they would counter with the next three shots of the afternoon, including a shot from Tori Powell at the top of the box that bounced off the crossbar and another one of hers went wide left.
ACC CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATIONNov. 10, 13, & 15 | WakeMed Soccer Park | Cary, NC
In the 61st minute, Tech finally broke through with a goal from Emma Steigerwald, her second of the season and the third of her career. The play started with Grace Sklopan taking the ball up the left side, avoiding two tackles and crossing it into the box. A headed clear attempt by Boston College went straight to Steigerwald's right foot and she drilled it back into the net.
It didn't take the Hokies long to add an insurance goal as Emily Gray scored her third of the season and the ninth of her career in the 66th minute. It was a Steigerwald cross from the endline that found Powell, who had just seen BC goalkeeper Allie Augur make a diving save on her 30 seconds earlier, and Augur did it again on a point-blank shot. However, Gray was right there for the rebound and put it away to give Tech the 2-0 advantage.
With just under eight minutes remaining – and what could have turned out to be an important goal, based on seeding for the upcoming ACC Championship – Molly Feighan raced down a poorly played pass back between BC defenders and scored on a shot from the top of the box. It was her first of the season and the fourth of her career.
Skinner, who made that tremendous save in the scoreless tie, was rarely tested in the second half and improved to 5-6-0 on season in net and notched her second career shutout in the victory.
Additional Notes
- Steigerwald notched her second career game winner with the contest's first goal.
- Emmalee McCarter has started 51 straight matches for the Hokies, the longest active streak on the team.
- Four Hokies have started all 12 matches this season: Gray, McCarter, Sklopan and Steigerwald.
- For the first time since 2016, the Hokies won back-to-back ACC road matches. The last time, they beat Syracuse (Oct. 6, 2-1) and Boston College (Oct. 9, 3-2).
- Since Oct. 4, Tech has won five-of-seven overall, which included a 4-1 mark in conference play as the Hokies made their run to the postseason tournament.
- The team has outscored its opponents 19-8 during that span and 17-6 in ACC action.
- Tech is now 6-8-3 all-time against Boston College and 4-4-1 on the road.
From Coach Adair
- "I'm very proud of our entire group – the team, the players, the staff, the administration and everyone who supported us through our run this year. It's been a challenging year for sure with everything going on. I'm proud of the way the team has come together, the way they played for one another and the way our season continued to grow. We had a very difficult schedule from the start through the finish of the conference and the team was able to pull together and become better as a group and fight through many of the different challenges. So, I'm just proud of the group and excited for the team to get the opportunity to go to the ACC tournament. The effort today was indicative of how we played all year. We've gotten better as the game's gone on. We played smart and stuck to the game plan and deserved to win today which we're excited for. Also, excited for the group to get the shutout, and scoring three goals on the road is always nice."
Up Next
The Hokies returned to Blacksburg, and after the conclusion of all of the ACC regular season matchups on Sunday, the conference announced the seedings for the ACC Championship. Tech will face North Carolina in the third quarterfinal contest next Tuesday, Nov. 10 with kickoff set for 5:30 p.m. The entire tournament will be competed at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
Gallery: (11-1-2020) 2020 WOMEN'S SOCCER at BOSTON COLLEGE