Hokies punch their ticket to NCAA Tournament

Tech to play Air Force Thursday night

November 13, 2017

BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech men’s soccer team earned a bid into the 48-team field for the 2017 NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament Monday afternoon. It is the program’s second consecutive trip into the field, following 2016’s run to the Elite Eight.

Tech will host Air Force at Thompson Field on Thursday night. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.

The Hokies finished the regular season 9-9 after knocking off NC State in the ACC Tournament before falling to regular season and ACC Tournament champions and national No. 1 Wake Forest.

Throughout the season, Tech picked up impressive wins at then-No.14 Creighton, at home winning 2-1 over top-ranked Notre Dame and also getting past conference foes Boston College and Pitt.

For the first time in program history, Tech placed two players on the ACC’s First Team All-Conference in the form of seniors Ben Lundgaard and Marcelo Acuna.

Lundgaard leads the conference in saves and has kept five clean sheets on the year. Acuna paces Tech with 11 goals, a mark good for third in the league. His five game-winners ties him atop the ACC charts.

Tech's schedule, rated the fourth toughest in the nation, featured 11 games against teams who made the field. Each team the Hokies lost to are included in the field.

The ACC, the premier men's soccer conference in the country, placed nine teams into the tournament.

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