BLACKSBURG – Hoping to build off Sunday's outing against No. 9 Santa Clara, the Virginia Tech women's soccer team will vie for its fifth win on Thursday, Sept. 9, when Tech continues its non-conference schedule at Thompson Field against Villanova. Thursday's match between the Hokies and the Wildcats will air live on ACC Network Extra with kickoff scheduled for 5 p.m.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
• Last Week's Action: Virginia Tech returns to Blacksburg having split its two matches at last week's Fairfield by Marriott Invitational, as hosted by James Madison at Sentara Park. On Sept. 2, Emily Gray recorded the Hokies' first hat trick since 2009 to lift Tech to the 3-2 victory during its tournament opener against the host Dukes. Gray, who co-leads the ACC with her six goals, scored twice off set pieces for the Hokies, following her dazzling, 25-yard free kick with her second penalty kick goal of the season. Unluckily, Gray's offensive magic did not carry over for Tech into Sunday's tilt against the defending national champion, No. 9 Santa Clara. Despite outshooting the Broncos, 11-8 (6-2 on target), the Hokies lost their hard-fought tournament finale to the west coast side, 2-0. Emma Steigerwald and Makenzie Graham both made their way into Tech's starting XI against Santa Clara as the Hokies tweaked their look for the first time this fall.
• Scouting the Wildcats: Villanova enters Thursday's match unbeaten, having defeated four of its five opponents this season by multiple-goal margins. Up for the challenge, Tech marks the Wildcats' first and only non-conference opponent of the 2021 campaign to hail from a Power Five conference. Thursday's match will feature two electrifying attackers as the Hokies' Emily Gray matches up opposite Villanova's Chloe O'Neill, who began the week ranked second among BIG EAST goal scorers (six). The Wildcats are anchored by goalkeeper Megan McClay, who sports a 0.59 goals against average and has kept two clean sheets, including her most recent outing against Cornell (Sept. 5).
• Defending the House: Tech is looking to defend home turf yet again on Thursday night as the Hokies chase their sixth consecutive regular season win at Thompson Field. Under head coach Chugger Adair, Tech has won 12 straight regular season home matches against non-conference, non-ACC opponents and is unbeaten across its last 21 such matches dating back to the 2016 season (19-0-2).
UP NEXT
Virginia Tech will head back on the road when it visits No. 12 South Carolina on Sunday, Sept. 12. Kickoff between the Hokies and the Gamecocks is scheduled for 5 p.m. while Sunday's match will air live on the SEC Network.
ON-CAMPUS PARKING UPDATE
Virginia Tech Parking Services has implemented a change to its on-campus parking policy to more effectively manage parking for the growing population of permit holders who engage in university activities after traditional business hours. Beginning August 2021, on-campus parking lots will be metered until 10 p.m. on weekdays, Monday through Friday. Visitors to Virginia Tech's Blacksburg campus will now need to pay to park on campus using one of three options:
- ParkMobile App (available here)
- Go online to purchase a daily parking permit
- Visit the Parking Services office at 505 Beamer Way between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. to purchase a daily permit
To learn more about campus parking, please click here. If anyone has questions, please email parking@vt.edu or call (540) 231-3200.