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Game Notes

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech men's soccer team has a second game in the city of Cincinnati in almost as many days as they take on Xavier on Saturday night.

Last time out, Tech knocked off Cincinnati by a 5-1 margin of victory on Thursday night. Merlin Baus recorded a goal and two assists in the game. Four other Tech players netted their first goals of the season in the win. Ricardo John, Dylan Huber and Reece Alexander all scored.

It only took Tech just over a minute to get the first goal on the board off a Baus corner kick. Though Cincinnati responded a few minutes later with a goal of their own, Tech got two more goals before halftime to put the game away early.

The Hokies outshot Cincinnati 15-8, holding a decisive edge in shots on goal with the margin favoring the away team 10-2.

Tech will face a ranked opponent for the first time this season. The last ranked team they knocked off was No. 17 Syracuse, 2-1 (OT) (9/6/13).

The Hokies are 7-1 all-time against Xavier University with the series dating back to 1995. The last meeting was in 2008 in Blacksburg, Va. where the No. 13 Hokies won the game 2-1. The Hokies have won the prior seven meetings between the squads including three shutouts. The only loss came in the inagural meeting in 1995.

No. 10 Xavier is coming off their first loss of the season as they fell to Lipscomb 2-1 in Nashville, Tenn. The Musketeers previously beat Wisconsin on the road (2-0) as well as Eastern Illinois (8-0) at home.

The team reached the NCAA Third Round last year as well as the Big East Championship game. Xavier earned an at-large bid to the 2014 NCAA Championships as the No. 14 ranked team in the country. The Musketeers have six seniors and returned three of their top-four scorers in sophomore Matt Vasquenza (7g, 6a), senior Alex Ridsdale (5g, 4a) and junior Jalen Brown (4g, 2a).

Defender Cory Brown was also named a preseason All-Big East First Team selection. He was named a SCAA All-Great Lakes Region First Team, BIG EAST Second Team and BIG EAST All-Rookie team selection in 2014.

Xavier has scored nine of their 11 goals this season in the second half and Alex Ridsdale has a team-high three goals on the season. Vasquenza has two goals and an assist while Kaleb Bayse has two goals.

For updates on Virginia Tech men's soccer, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_MSoccer