1 | 2 | F | |
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UNC Wilmington (2-1-0) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Virginia Tech (1-0-2) | 0 | 2 | 2 |
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A rollercoaster 90 minutes and 30 seconds of extra time was all the Virginia Tech women’s soccer team needed to beat Georgetown, 4-3, in a thrilling NCAA Tournament second-round game that propelled the Hokies into the Sweet 16 on Friday evening at Penn State. Ashley Meier scored the game-winning overtime goal after just 30 seconds of extra time, and Murielle Tiernan scored one and assisted two goals.
“To advance to the second round is huge,” head coach Chugger Adair said. “The girls showed a lot of mental toughness and fight tonight. The game was a difficult one. It was crazy the way it went, with three goals scored in under one minute.”
Earlier this season, Tech (16-5) dominated Georgetown (11-5-6), 6-1, at Thompson Field. The lopsided Hokie win looked much different than tonight’s back-and-forth NCAA Tournament game.
In only the third minute of play, on the first set piece of the game, Tiernan put the Hokies on the board after heading in a corner kick sent in from Jordan Coburn to put Tech up 1-0.
Five minutes later, last year’s BIG EAST offensive player of the year, Daphne Corboz, found herself at the top of the 18-yard box in space and fired a shot into the side netting, bending the ball around the diving Kaylyn Smith to tie the game at 1-1.
The Hokies entered the half with a 5-1 lead in shots on goal, but the second half was nothing short of dramatic.
In the 60th minute, the Hoyas took the lead on Tech after Grace Damaska took a run down the right sideline and sent a cross into Audra Ayotte, who one-touched the pass into the back of the net to put Georgetown up 2-1.
Once the 79-minute mark hit, craziness broke out. The Hokies scored an equalizing goal when Bria Dixon put away a loose ball on a scramble in front of the goal to tie the game at 2-2.
On the ensuing kickoff, Georgetown immediately went on the attack down the left sideline and Corboz eventually picked up a ball in the middle and scored her second of the game to put the Hoyas up 3-2.
Virginia Tech wasn’t done there. Only 20 seconds after the Georgetown goal, Tech scored another to tie the game at 3-3. Tiernan started the attack and found Meier on a quality setup just inside the 18-yard box. Meier gave the ball off one more time to Mayrose, who took a dribble then scored the game-tying third goal.
The 90 minutes of regulation concluded in a 3-3 tie, and the Hokies advanced to sudden-death overtime for the first time this season.
Only thirty seconds into the first 10-minute period of overtime, Meier picked up the ball right in front of the goal and fired a rocket over the keeper into the goal to give the Hokies the 4-3 win at Jeffrey Field. Tiernan tallied an assist on the play, drawing the defense in before passing to Meier on the run.
This is the second-straight year the Hokies have advanced to the Sweet 16 and the fourth time in program history. Two years ago, Georgetown bounced Tech from the tournament in the first round after getting a 3-2 overtime win. Last year, the Hokies advanced all the way to the College Cup for their best finish in program history.
Tech will play in the third round of the tournament on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Jeffrey Field against Penn State, who beat Connecticut, 1-0, Friday night. Live stats and live video will be available online.
For updates on Virginia Tech women's soccer, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_WSoccer