Pugh_Cel_DavidsonPugh_Cel_Davidson
Men's Soccer

Pugh nabs brace, No. 5 Hokies fly past Davidson

BLACKSBURG – Dawning a new kit and an equally flamboyant No. 5 national ranking, Virginia Tech cruised to a 4-0 victory over Davidson at Thompson Field on Tuesday night.
 
Conor Pugh opened the scoring in the 16th minute before Pol Monells doubled Tech's (8-1-3, 3-1-1 ACC) lead with a strike from outside the box before the half. It was more of the same in the second half, as Pugh added another then Sivert Haugli wrapped up the evening with a late penalty to secure Tech's largest win of the season.
 
For the first time at Thompson this season, the Hokies did not head into the locker room at halftime with 0-0 draw on the scoreboard. The visiting Wildcats (7-5-1, 2-2-1 A10) had to deal with an onslaught of Tech chances in the first half, as the home team put 10 up shots in the first 45 minutes.
 
In his first start since the Marshall match in August, Chris Little made an impact as he provided the ball that Nick Blacklock whipped onto the head of Pugh, pushing Tech into an early lead. 
 


 
Shortly after in the 32nd minute, Monells cut left towards the center of the pitch and released a shot that took a deflection and landed in the back of the net for the graduate student's fourth goal of the season. 
 


 
Not looking back in the second half, the Hokies added to their tally when Jacob Labovitz tried to get in on the scoring action, but his shot was saved – only to fall to the feet of Pugh for his second. With that second goal, Pugh joined Haugli and Labovitz as the third player to record two goals in one game this season.
 
Wrapping up the night, Haugli slotted home a penalty in the closing minutes of the match, which earned Virginia Tech its second four-goal game in a row.
 
Up next, the Hokies travel to Winston-Salem, N.C. to face (RV) Wake Forest on Saturday at 7 p.m.Gallery: (10-12-2021) MSOC: Davidson Match