BLACKSBURG – The No. 11 Virginia Tech men's soccer team earned its third home win and first shutout of the season on Tuesday evening, downing ETSU at Thompson Field, 2-0.
Both sides came out a bit timid, neither pulling away as the dominant side to begin in the non-conference clash.
The first shot across the bow came from an ETSU (2-4-2, 0-1-1 SoCon) free kick in the 33rd minute. From close to 25 yards out, the Buccaneers' Tarik Pannholzer called Virginia Tech's (6-1-2, 2-1-0) Ben Martino in action. It required an acrobatic effort from the freshman to tip away the shot that was curling towards the top right corner.
Despite opening the jar of opportunities, for the third time in four games, the Hokies went into the break tied at 0-0.
However, ten minutes into the second half, Camron Lennon sprayed a ball out left for Kyle McDowell, who created space to whip in a ball into the box. Conor Pugh collected the ball and scurried off a shot from just inside the six-yard box, sending the Hokies into the lead.
𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙩 ⚽️
— Virginia Tech Men's Soccer (@HokiesMSoccer) September 29, 2021
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📊 https://t.co/9JlyLxVqeg#Hokies 🦃 pic.twitter.com/dXcwfSR7si
Shortly after the breakthrough, Nick Blacklock doubled Tech's lead. Pugh played a ball back to a trailing Blacklock, who took a touch away from goal then rifled a shot across the target, finding the bottom left corner.
. @nick_a17 doubles the lead 🥵
— Virginia Tech Men's Soccer (@HokiesMSoccer) September 29, 2021
📺 https://t.co/ucd0p10OT1
📊 https://t.co/9JlyLxVqeg#Hokies 🦃 pic.twitter.com/bRy86u0hlJ
Tech's defense withstood ETSU's efforts to claw back into the game in the last 25 minutes. The task became reasonably easier when the visitor's Dominic Foster was sent off for chopping at McDowell's ankle in an incident away from the ball.
Up next, the Hokies will try to build on their long-awaited clean sheet, as they face ACC foe Boston College in Newton, Mass. on Friday night.Gallery: (9-28-2021) MSOC: ETSU Match