BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech women's soccer is set to host No. 5 Notre Dame on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 7:00 p.m. Thursday's match against Notre Dame will air live on ACC Network Extra. Virginia Tech leads the series against Notre Dame 4-3-1.
Thursday, October 20 – 7 p.m.
Thompson Field, Blacksburg, Va.
vs. No. 5 Notre Dame (12-2, 5-2)
Live Stats: CLICK HERE
Watch Live: CLICK HERE
• Against Those Who are Ranked (9-4-2, 3-3-1): The Hokies tied No. 13 Virginia at home last Thursday, Oct. 13 in a 3-3 match. Taylor Price scored the first goal of the match, putting the Hokies ahead by one at the half. After giving up three goals in the second, the Hokies fought back to tie the game. Taylor Bryan recorded her first career brace in the final 10 minutes. The equalizer hit the back of the net with only 39 seconds left in the game.
Earlier in the season, Tech defeated No. 3 North Carolina in a 2-1 upset over the Tar Heels. North Carolina held the lead at the half 1-0, but Tech turned the tide in the last remaining third of the match as Taylor Bryan scored the equalizer in the 73rd minute. Tori Powell sealed the deal for the Hokies scoring the game-winning goal in the 85th minute. Powell's goal earned her the title of ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week.
Tech also upset No. 22 NC State in Raleigh with a 1-0 victory. Taylor Price scored the game-winning goal against the Wolfpack. The Hokies have gone unbeaten against ranked ACC opponents this season.
• No. 5 Fighting Irish (12-2, 5-2): Notre Dame returns to the pitch after its fourth-straight shutout in the ACC. Last week, Notre Dame took down No. 3 Florida State 4-0. Olivia Wingate led the team versus the Seminoles with two goals and one assist. The Irish went on to defeat Louisville 2-0 with both goals in the first 49 minutes of play. Wingate recorded her 10th goal of the season and leads the ACC.
Notre Dame's goalkeeper Makenzie Wood has allowed zero goals in her last four games, ranking the Irish 14th in the NCAA with a goals-against average of .571. Their scoring offense is ranked 14th in the NCAA with an average of 2.50 goals per match.
•Keep Your Eyes On: Taylor Price scored her eighth goal of the season in a conference game against Virginia last Thursday. Price is tied for fourth in the ACC for overall goals this season, tied with Notre Dame's Maddie Mercado. Price was named to the College Soccer News Women's National Team of the Week after scoring the game-winning goal against No. 22 NC State 1-0. Four times this season Price has scored the first Hokie goal leading to a Virginia Tech victory.
Natalie Mitchell continues to lead the Hokies in shots with 44 in 15 games, ranked ninth in the ACC. Mitchell is also tied for second in the ACC with seven assists. Price and Mitchell were ranked in the top 15 of the TopDrawerSoccer.com Top 100 midseason list. Price was ranked fifth and Mitchell 11th.
Taylor Bryan has scored three goals this season against ranked teams, twice scoring the equalizing goal. Bryan was named the ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week after scoring two goals against No. 13 Virginia in the final third. Tori Powell scored her fifth game-winning goal against No. 3 North Carolina (2-1) in the 85th minute of the match, her sixth goal of the season.
Earlier this season, Victoria Haugen was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week. Haugen was a key part of the Hokies success in both shutout victories played against NC State and Wake Forest, playing the full 90 minutes in each.
•Watch Out: Olivia Wingate leads the Irish and the ACC this season with 10 goals. Wingate is ranked first in the ACC for both goals and shots (58). Maddie Mercado is second in scoring on the team with eight goals and three assists. Notre Dame's goalkeeper, Makenzie Wood has allowed zero goals in seven games this season.
• Shots: Virginia Tech has taken 241 shots this season, while holding opponents down to 139 shots. Notre Dame is closely matched in goals with 35, one more than Tech. The Hokies average 7.21 shots on goal per game, compared to the Irish averaging 7.28.
Y2K Night
• First 100 fans will receive will a free Hokies koozie courtesy of Virginia Tech Athletics, or while supplies last.
UP NEXT
• The Hokies will host Syracuse (8-5-2) at Thompson Field on Sunday, Oct. 23 at 1:00 p.m. in the final home regular-season match of the season. The Hokies lead the overall series against Syracuse 6-2-1.
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