hokies continue to climb in rankings; Gray honored following road win

Ishan Lamba

Staff Writer

October 5, 2021

BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech continues to rise.

After making its first appearance in the rankings this season last week, VT (8-2-2, 2-0-2 ACC) climbed two spots from No. 19 to No. 17 in the United Coaches Soccer Poll.

The jump comes off the back of another gritty road performance that saw the Hokies down the Pitt Panthers in Pittsburgh Saturday night.

The big three came through for the Hokies again, as forward Nicole Kozlova fed midfielder Emily Gray for the opening goal in the 15th minute.

After the Panthers tied the game off a penalty kick, forward Tori Powell threaded the needle to Gray, who scored the go-ahead goal to complete her brace and give the Hokies the win.

For her two-goal effort, Gray was named co-ACC Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced Tuesday. It marked the second time she's recieved the honor (Oct. 2020), and became the second Hokie to earn weekly honors this season after keeper Alia Skinner was named co-ACC Defensive Player of the Week last week.

Gray’s nine goals on the season has her tied for No. 11 in the nation and her 22 points leads the ACC.

However, just behind her with eight goals is Megan Bornkamp, a crucial part of the Clemson Tigers offense, which becomes the Hokies’ next challenge.

The Tigers (7-4, 2-2 ACC) were on their way to recovering from two early season losses to be one of the hottest teams in the nation. They were ranked No. 22 just two weeks ago.

However, back-to-back three-goal losses to top-five opponents, UNC and Florida State, have dropped the Tigers out of the rankings.

While they are still receiving ranked votes, there’s no doubt that they are hungry to try and regain their footing against the Hokies.

The Hokies, on the other hand, will be looking to correct their struggles away from home this Thursday in South Carolina.