Virginia Tech (3-2-1, 0-1-1) vs. No. 1 Maryland (5-0-1, 2-0-0)
Sept. 21 • 7:30 p.m.
Ludwig Field • College Park, Md.
Live Stats: http://www.umterps.com/gametracker
Live Video: ACCDN on YouTube
SCOUTING MARYLAND
• Maryland is coming off of a 3-2 win over previously unbeaten No. 17 NC State at Ludwig Field. The Wolfpack took a 1-0 lead five minutes into the match, but the Terps scored three unswered from the 41st minute to the 60th minute. NC State got one back on a penalty kick three minutes later, but failed to find the equalizer during the final 27 minutes.
• Maryland was set to face No. 11 Old Dominion on Tuesday, but after leading 1-0 after 19 minutes, the game was canceled due to weather.
• The Terps lead the ACC in goals (21), assists (21) and points (63).
• Maryland is second in the ACC in shots with 92, only trailing Wake Forest which has recorded 105 through seven games.
• The Terps are led by seniors Taylor Kemp and John Stertzer who were named to the 2012 MAC Hermann Trophy watch list, as well as junior striker Patrick Mullins. Stertzer is currently tied for second in the conference in goals with 4 while Mullis tops the league assists (6) and is second in points (10).
• Maryland is 3-0-1 this season against top-25 opponents.
SERIES HISTORY
• Maryland leads the all-time series with Virginia Tech with a 9-1-1 record.
• Tech recorded both the win and draw during the 2007 season. The Hokies tied the Terps 1-1 on the road during the regular season before picking up a 3-0 win in the NCAA tournament.
• Last season, No. 1 Maryland earned a 2-0 victory at Thompson Field on Sept. 24. John Stertzer and Casey Townsend recorded the goals for the Terps.
HOKIES IN YOUR HOME
For fans looking to catch a game live, but can’t attend, nine Hokie matches will broadcast live either online or on TV throughout the 2012 season.
• Hokies All-Access (http://www.hokiesports.com/allaccess)
• Aug. 26 vs. Richmond, 2:30 p.m.
• Sept. 14 vs. Boston College, 7:00 p.m.
• Sept. 28 vs. Wake Forest, 7:00 p.m.
• Oct 23 vs. Radford, 7:00 p.m.
• ESPN3
• Sept. 8 at North Carolina, 7:00 p.m.
• Now. 1 at Clemson, 7:00 p.m.
• ACCDN on YouTube
• Sept. 21 at Maryland, 7:30 p.m.
• Oct. 12 vs. NC State, 7:00 p.m.
• RSN
• Oct. 19 at Virginia, 6:30 p.m.
ANOTHER NO. 1
• For the second-straight season, Tech will face multiple top-ranked opponents.
• Last year, the Hokies upset North Carolina 1-0 in double overtime before falling to Maryland two weeks later, 2-0. Both matches were played at Thompson Field.
• This season, Tech fell 2-0 at North Carolina, just under two weeks before the team will take the field at Maryland.
JUST GIVE THEM THE LEAD
• In all three of Hokies wins this season, they’ve scored first.
• All three games have resulted in shutouts.
• With Kyle Renfro and Hunter Maricle in goal, and a defensive unit led by center backs Devante Dubose and Drew Ranahan, Tech has held its opponents scoreless for 145-plus minutes after the squad has scored the game’s opening goal.
HOKIE WALL
• Goalkeeper Kyle Renfro has started this season where he left off last year. After leading the ACC with 100 saves in 2011, the junior currently leads the conference in saves (32) and saves per game (5.33). He is also second in the league in save percentage (.842) and tied for fourth in shutouts (2) and shutouts per game (.33).
• His nine saves in a 1-1 draw versus Boston College on Sept. 14 tied his career high which was set on Sept. 10, 2011 in a 1-0 double-overtime win over No. 1 North Carolina.
• The nine saves is also the most by a keeper this season in the ACC.
• Currently, his career goals against average of 1.15 is 0.03 behind the school record set by current Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Chase Harrison.
• His seven career shutouts is three away from cracking the school’s top five.
WHO NEEDS TO PLAY AT FULL STRENGTH
• The Hokies had a gutsy performance in a 1-1 draw against Boston College on Sept. 14. After going down a goal in the 46th minute, Tech was forced to play down a man after a red card was issued to DeVante DuBose. The Hokies fought back to tie the game on an 83rd minute goal by captain David Fiorello.
• After going down a man, Tech equaled its first half shot total of three during the final 40 minutes of regulation before adding another three during the 20 minutes of extra time.
• During the final 60 minutes of play, Boston College took 10 shots, two less than the first 50 minutes.
OFFENSIVE HOKIES
• Through the first three matches of the season, the Hokies only had three goals with three different goal scorers (Daniel Lauretano, David Clemens and Jed Prater).
• Drew Hartell and Connor Pompilio tallied their first goals of the season and first of their careers on Sept. 2 versus St. Bonaventure as Clemens and Lauretano scored their second goals of the year in the 4-0 victory.
• The last time Tech defeated a team by four goals or more was nearly two years ago in a 7-2 win over Howard on Sept. 14, 2010.
• Through four games, Clemens had equaled his scoring output from a year ago when he played in 10 games.
• After coming in as a substitute in the first game, Lauretano recorded his first goal as a Hokie against SIU-Edwardsville. Three starts later, the freshmen tallied his second goal on the year.
• Six games into his final season, midfielder David Fiorello tallied the first goal of his career in dramatic fashion with a 35-yard high-arching shot that looped over the BC keeper Justin Luthy for a game-tying goal in the 83rd minute while playing his team was playing a man down.
MINUTE MEN
• DeVante DuBose, David Fiorello, Jed Prater, Drew Ranahan, Kyle Renfro and Ben Strong have put in 500-plus minutes each this season for the Hokies through five games, while David Clemens is just shy of the mark with 492.
• Fiorello leads the team, playing every minute thus far.
• Prater, Ranahan, Renfro and Strong led Tech in minutes logged a season ago. The four amassed 6,969 minutes in 19 games.
LEARNING ON THE FLY
• Tech has 16 players this season who have been in the program for less than two years. With David Fiorello being the lone senior on the 2012 squad, and only seven upperclassmen in all.
• Six underclassmen have totaled more than 275 minutes this season, while five have logged 250-plus minutes.
• Sophomore Ben Strong leads all underclassmen with 530 minutes played while freshman Daniel Lauretano leads all freshmen with 448 minutes.
ACC TEST
• The Hokies are amid a grueling conference test in which the team will take on the top five teams in the conference according to the latest NSCAA rankings.
• Tech opened the ACC season with 2-0 defeat at No. 1 North Carolina on Sept. 8. The Hokies followed that up with a 1-1 double overtime draw against Boston College at Thompson Field on Sept. 14. The Eagles were receiving votes after opening the season ranked No. 14.
• On Sept. 21, the Hokies travel to College Park, Md., to face No. 1 Maryland before hosting a No. 16 Wake Forest a week later.
• Tech will step out of conference play the following week before it hosts No. 17 NC State on Oct. 12 which will stream live on the ACC Digital Network’s YouTube page.
AMONG THE BEST
• The Atlantic Coast Conference has traditionally been one of the nation’s top conferences in men’s soccer and this year is no different. Currently four schools (North Carolina, Maryland, Wake Forest, North Carolina State) are ranked in the NSCAA’s top 25, which is the second-most of any conference behind the Big East.
• The league began the season with three teams ranked in the NSCAA’s top 25 preseason poll which was second behind the Big East’s four.
445:02
• The Hokies kept their opposition from finding the net for a total of 445:02 minutes during the first five games of the season.
• All five goals allowed during this time were surrendered during two stretches that total less than five minutes. The Hokies allowed SIUE to score three goals in span of three minutes and eight seconds in the season opener while North Carolina’s Martin Murphy scored twice one minute and 52 seconds.
CAPTAINS
• Senior David Fiorello will finish out his Tech career as a three-time team captain for the Hokies, while junior Jed Prater will join him for his first time in the role.
DON’T I KNOW YOU
• The center back pairing of DeVante DuBose and Drew Ranahan played high school soccer at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, Calif.
• Redshirt freshmen Hunter Byrnes and Drew Hartell were high school teammates at F.W. Cox High School in Virginia Beach. They also both played club soccer for Beach FC.
• Freshmen Kai Marshall and Shane Rose played for Albemarle High School in Charlottesville, Va., while also playing club soccer for SOCA Lightning.
• Despite going to high schools more than 300 miles apart, freshmen Hunter Jecius and Deven Mason played club soccer together for New Mexico Rush Nike Argonauts ‘94 which is located in Albuquerque, N.M.
For updates on Virginia Tech men's soccer, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_MSoccer).