BLACKSBURG – Backed by senior Emily Gray's five-point night on Thursday, the Virginia Tech women's soccer team popped back into the win column in style as the Hokies flew by Miami, 5-0, at Thompson Field.
Gray put Virginia Tech (9-5-2, 3-3-2 ACC) on a winning course from the very start, deking her defender near the nine-minute mark before bouncing her 18-yard attempt off traffic and through. The veteran midfielder completed her brace during the 37th minute and later assisted on Allie Lewis' first collegiate goal to move into sole possession of third place on the Hokies' all-time points leaderboard (74).
Emma Pelkowski sandwiched her second goal of the season between Gray's pair of first half finishes, helping Tech stake the 3-0 lead by the intermission. After Lewis had headed in the 12th of her team's 13 corners during the 62nd minute, Holly Weber tacked on a late insurance goal inside the final two minutes of play, striking a left-to-right ball that was introduced by Ayden Yates.
Alia Skinner made four saves against Miami (4-10-0, 1-7-0 ACC) before handing the defensive keys to Lauren Hargrove for the final six minutes and change.
With the victory, Virginia Tech leapfrogged two teams in the ACC table to climb to eighth place in the league standings. The Hokies head into their final two matches of the regular season four points off the pace of advancing to the six-team conference tournament that begins on Sunday, Oct. 31.
Thursday's match and victory were dedicated to the late Ryland Harris – close family member to Tech sophomore Victoria Haugen – who passed away from pediatric brain cancer at the young age of 17. The Hokies wore orange Ryland Strong warmup shirts throughout the match (his favorite color) in addition to donning their pink kits in support of October's Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
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Virginia Tech will host Boston College on Sunday, Oct. 21. Kickoff between the Hokies and the Eagles is scheduled for 12 p.m.Gallery: (10-21-2021) WSOC: Miami Match