1 | 2 | F | |
---|---|---|---|
(20) Notre Dame (6-3-1) | 0 | 2 | 2 |
(2) Virginia Tech (10-1-0) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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BLACKSBURG - The second-ranked Virginia Tech women’s soccer team fell 2-0 to No. 20 Notre Dame at Thompson Field on Thursday night, ending their program-best 10-game winning streak.
“I thought they wanted it more than we did, and they were the better side tonight,” head coach Chugger Adair said. “We were lacking a little bit of intensity and passion tonight, and we didn’t do a very good job taking care of the ball.”
The two teams entered tonight’s game very familiar with one another after facing off twice last season, once in the regular season and once in the ACC quarterfinal. When the Irish (6-3-1, 1-1-0 ACC) travelled to Blacksburg for the quarterfinal last year, the Hokies (10-1-0, 1-1-0 ACC) won a highly contested match in double overtime.
Tonight, the Irish came away the victors. Second-half goals from Anna Gilbertson and Kaleigh Olmstead were all the Irish needed to halt the Tech winning-streak at 10 games.
Tech’s first loss of the year marked the first time it has conceded the first goal of the game and the first time it has given up two goals in one game.
For the first half of the contest, defense was the story as neither team was able to create many scoring opportunities.
Tech central defenders Jodie Zelenky and Sydney Curtis, who made her first career start tonight, played solid to hold the middle with the help of outside defenders Danielle King and Morgan Conklin. The defensive unit for the Hokies held Notre Dame to only one shot on goal for the entire first half.
30 minutes into the contest, Tiernan created a chance for the Hokies when she took on her defender and sent a shot across the middle. After an Irish defender deflected the ball, Katie Yensen sent another shot, but the defense was there to alter the strike. After the deflection, the ball nearly rolled into the goal but Notre Dame keeper Kaela Little dove to push the ball wide.
Only a few minutes later, Tiernan received the ball from the wing in the middle of the 18-yard box, took a quick turn around the defender and fired a rocket towards the goal, but Little was there to make save.
For the rest of the first half, both teams kept the play in the midfield, and the Hokies entered the half barely leading Notre Dame in the shot tally, 5-4.
For the first fifteen minutes of the second half, the play remained even, but in the 61st minute, Anna Gilbertson opened the scoring for the Irish. Karin Simonian stole the ball on the right wing deep inside the Tech half, sent a quick cross into the middle and found the Irish forward. Gilbertson snuck past the Tech defense to pick up the pass and had only the keeper to beat. She sent the ball into the goal to put Notre Dame up 1-0.
Eight minutes later, the Irish added to their lead when Kaleigh Olmstead received a pass from Taylor Schneider through the middle with space and sent the shot past Tech keeper Caroline Kelly to put the Irish up 2-0.
Tonight’s game marked the first time since 2012 that the Hokies have been shut out at home, when they fell to UVA 5-0.
The Irish finished the game with four shots on goal compared to Tech’s five and Tech keeper Caroline Kelly made two saves in the contest.
With the win, Notre Dame improves to 1-1-0 in the ACC and Tech falls to 1-1.
The Hokies close out their three-game ACC home stand on Sunday against Duke at 5 p.m.
For updates on Virginia Tech women's soccer, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_WSoccer