BLACKSBURG – Riding the wave of Sunday's top-15 road victory, the Virginia Tech women's soccer team will return home to Thompson Field on Saturday, Sept. 18, when Tech kicks off its ACC schedule against North Carolina State. Saturday's 7 p.m. match between the Hokies and the Wolfpack will air live on ACC Network Extra.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
• A Deserving Performance: Virginia Tech closed its non-conference schedule with one of its best performances of the 2021 season as the Hokies defeated No. 12 South Carolina, 1-0, on Sunday in Columbia. Fourth-year forward Nicole Kozlova slid her way to the match-winning goal for Tech during the 20th minute, timing her knee-high volley to perfection to deliver the Hokies' early lead. Senior midfielder Emily Gray recorded her 19th career assist on the sequence, moving into a tie for fourth place all-time at Virginia Tech. With their goal advantage, the Hokies staged one of their stronger defensive outings of the season, holding the Gamecocks to seven total attempts – a season low by the ranked SEC squad. Sophomore goalkeeper Alia Skinner kept her third clean sheet of the 2021 season while Tech defensive backs Makenzie Graham, Victoria Haugen, Allie Lewis and Emma Steigerwald played the duration of the contest to lock in the Hokies' victory. The win marked Tech's third result against ranked competition since the beginning of the 2019 season (T, 0-0 vs. No. 10 Duke – Oct. 2019; W, 2-0 vs. No. 14 Pittsburgh – Oct. 2020).
• Scouting North Carolina State: After opting out of the fall 2020 ACC season during the COVID-19 pandemic, North Carolina State has returned to form during the 2021 season. Despite their 4-2-2 record, the Wolfpack have sized up well against top programs, highlighted by their season-opening draw against No. 9 Georgetown (2-2). Competitive heartbreak has followed NC State around this fall as the Wolfpack have conceded 90th-minute, match-winning goals on two occasions to both No. 10 South Carolina (2-1) and No. 11 Penn State (1-0). Although Virginia Tech leads the all-time series against NC State, 9-5-1, the Hokies are pursuing their first series victory since 2015 and their first home point against the Wolfpack since 2012. Saturday's match finds Tech in a difficult portion of its league schedule as the Hokies may potentially face three ranked ACC sides during each of their next three matches.
• Home Ground: Simply put, Virginia Tech thoroughly enjoys competing on its home pitch, Thompson Field. The Hokies carry their six-match home winning streak into Saturday's ACC opener – two wins shy of tying the program's eight-match winning streak that ended in 2009. Entering Saturday, Tech is 4-0-0 at home this year, having netted 16 goals at a +14 differential without conceding during the first half. Since the start of the 2018 season, the Hokies are 8-5-1 during home ACC regular season matches that have counted toward the league standings. Tech's three ACC-opening victories under head coach Chugger Adair have also been earned exclusively at home, including its 2012 win against NC State.
UP NEXT
• Virginia Tech will continue ACC action on Thursday, Sept. 23, when the Hokies travel to No. 2 North Carolina. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
