commonwealth clash decided by late overtime heroics

Kolbjorn Bergstrom

Staff Writer

September 18, 2021

BLACKSBURG — In the third minute of the second overtime, graduate transfer Pol Monells found himself in space and with an option to his left. Monells, dribbling down the far touchline, threaded a cross pass to senior Jacob Labovitz, who already scored the Hokies’ lone goal earlier in the match.

He took contact from a defender, stayed on his feet, jumped a few feet in the air and headed Monells’ pass into the back of the net.

The home crowd at Thompson Field shrieked. Tech players went wild. Hokies’ head coach Mike Brizendine threw his hands up in relief before going over to congratulate his players. And No. 17 Virginia Tech earned its first points in ACC play with a 2-1 double overtime win over Virginia in the Commonwealth Clash.

“I’m pumped we got an ACC win,” Brizendine said. “Obviously it’s a little sweet when you beat Virginia, but we needed ACC points, and it was great to get those tonight. We’re about to hit murderer’s row. Every game is tough, we scheduled a grinder of a schedule so, you just gotta keep momentum going.”

Heading into the match, both sides had been struggling as of late, with each of its last two performances being a loss and a draw. The stakes certainly translated to play on the pitch, as it was non-stop aggressive offense and physicality from start to finish.

“It’s a derby game, there is always gonna be a lot of grit, both teams are working so hard to win,” Labovitz said. “I respect UVa a ton and I respect our team a ton cause we both put in tremendous shifts. I was expecting a battle and we got a battle.”

Though the play on the field appeared to be back and forth throughout the game, it didn’t translate to a ton of chances during the first half. Two of the first few opportunities came in the first fifteen minutes, as each side drew excitement from the packed crowd.

UVa defender Andreas Ueland had the first big opportunity, as he had a free kick opportunity land to him for a header, but it was saved by Ben Martino.

Shortly after, Virginia Tech also earned an opportunity, with a well curled pass ended up giving freshman Danny Flores a perfect opportunity at the back post, which he curled narrowly wide.

The rest of the half played out the same, with neither side being able to find a great opportunity, instead they started to rack up fouls, combining for ten fouls in the first half.

One of the fouls resulted in the last key opportunity of the first half, as it occurred just outside the 18-yard box, giving the Hokies an excellent free kick position.

With a minute remaining in the half, Flores lined up for his chance. The box was loaded and it was down to 30 seconds. Flores took the shot, and it was saved by UVa goalkeeper Holden Brown, and that was the end of the half.

Halftime came and went with Virginia Tech needing to find more opportunities, as it only had two in the first half. The chance was given to the Hokies under a minute into the second half, as a free kick was awarded.

Rather than Flores, senior Kyle McDowell lined up for this free kick. He delivered an excellent left-footed curl towards the near post, and Labovitz got his head on it, beating Brown nearside to give the Hokies a 1-0 lead.

“I thought Kyle [McDowell] was gonna drop it right where he did and I just threw my body on the line to try and get it,” Labovitz said.

After a miscommunicated clearance from the Virginia Tech backline and Martino, the ball landed on the feet of freshman midfielder Asparuh Slavov. On the dribble, he performed an excellent spin, took two small touches, and ripped the ball into the top right corner from distance, tying the game at 1-1.

Virginia Tech was given another golden opportunity, as another foul came in the last minute of play, onto the foot of Flores.

It felt like deja vu. Another free kick against a loaded box, and Flores with the opportunity to close the game out with a game-winning goal. He took a shot, and this time it just went high, and it was the last kick of the half.

Just like in the second half, play slowed down drastically in the first overtime period, as three of the combined 27 shots in the game took place during the ten minute period, with none of them landing on target.

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But in the second overtime period, just a few minutes in, Monells’ cross that found Labovitz’s head, and eventually the back of the net, ended the night in pandemonium.

“I felt the goal was coming,” Labovitz said. “That was a super special moment.”