BLACKSBURG – Jumping two spots in the United Soccer Coaches top 25 poll, the No. 17 Virginia Tech women's soccer team will look to preserve its six-match unbeaten streak on Thursday, Oct. 7, when Tech descends on Clemson at Historic Riggs Field. Thursday's 8 p.m. match between the Hokies and the Tigers will air live on ACC Network.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
• Never a Gray Day: Unbeaten through its first four ACC matches for the first time since 2009, Virginia Tech heads into Thursday's match against Clemson occupying sole possession of fifth place in the league table – two points and two positions ahead of the Tigers. The Hokies, who are the fifth highest nationally ranked ACC team, are coming off their 2-1 victory at Pittsburgh (Oct. 2) that featured a match-winning brace by senior midfielder Emily Gray. Upon recording her sixth career multi-goal outing (ranking her second all-time at Virginia Tech), the veteran playmaker moved into a tie for eighth place on Tech's all-time goals leaderboard (24) while simultaneously taking over the ACC points lead (22). For her on-pitch success at Pitt, Gray was named to the College Soccer News Women's National Team of the Week (Oct. 4) in addition to garnering ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors (Oct. 5).
• To Catch the Tigers: Virginia Tech is hunting for its first series victory against Clemson since the 2014 season when Shannon Mayrose and Ashley Meier lifted the Hokies to their 2-0 win in Blacksburg. Since then, Tech has remained winless through its last six matches against the Tigers, including the teams' 2019 and 2020 meetings at Historic Riggs Field. With a win on Thursday, the Hokies would collect their first true road victory at Clemson since the 2012 campaign. This season, the Tigers are yet to earn a result from a match during which they have scored fewer than two goals – a feat the Hokies have allowed to occur once by an opponent during their current six-match unbeaten streak.
• Scoreboard Pressure: Entering Thursday, Virginia Tech has yet to face a scoreboard deficit through its first four ACC matches of the 2021 season. Considering all competitions, the Hokies have scored the match-opening goal during 10 of their first 12 matches, attaining an 8-0-2 record when striking first. On a similar line, Tech is 6-0-1 this season when scoring a first half goal, as was the case during its most recent victory at Pitt. The Hokies have led close to 49 percent of their total 2021 match time while trailing for less than 11 percent of their season minutes.
UP NEXT
Virginia Tech will complete its three-match, ACC away swing on Sunday, Oct. 10, at Wake Forest. Kickoff between the Hokies and the Demon Deacons is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Spry Stadium.
