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BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech men's soccer team lost a hard-fought match to No. 3 North Carolina on Friday night, 2-0.
The Hokies and Tar Heels, a NCAA Tournament quarterfinalist last season, played toe-to-toe for most of the contest but two late first half goals by UNC ultimately proved to be the difference. Virginia Tech moves to 2-2-0 (0-1-0) on the season while UNC improves to 4-0-1 (1-0-0).
The Hokies opened the game by creating a few scoring opportunites to try and put them in front. In the 11th minute, Som Essome hit a shot with pace from outside the penalty box that forced a diving save from UNC goalie James Pyle who was able to steer it out of bounds. Four minutes later, a diagonal cross bounced behind the Tar Heel backline and found the feet of Collin Verfurth but his volley from close range went high.
The teams traded possession and shots for the remaineder of the first half until UNC went ahead off a corner kick. Omar Holness played in a corner that was initially cleared by the Tech defense but Raby George was able to bring it down and put his shot past Lundgaard to make it 1-0. UNC would double their lead just over three minutes later as Tucker Hume was able to gain possession just outside of the penalty box and score to the far post to make it 2-0 going into halftime.
After the break, Tech settled down again as the teams played a physical contest. The Hokies next chance came in the 64th minute as Ricardo John's shot was saved by Pyle. Essome also was able to put another shot on frame in the 78th minute but couldn't sneak it past Pyle.
Essome led Tech with two shots, both on target. Verfurth, John and Reece Alexander were each finished with one shot attempt.
UNC outshot the Hokies 12-5 overall and held a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal. Ben Lundgaard made five saves and played all 90 minutes in goal.
Tech will hit the road for the third time in four games at they travel to VMI on Tuesday for a 4 p.m. kickoff.
For updates on Virginia Tech men's soccer, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_MSoccer
