hokies cruise to victory over tribe

Ishan Lamba

March 21, 2021

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Following a nail-biting finish two weeks ago in Charlotte, Virginia Tech earned a comfortable 3-0 win over in-state foe William & Mary, claiming its fifth straight regular season victory and moving to 7-8-0 on the season.

The Tribe, which entered the matchup with two draws on the season, were hoping to get out to an aggressive start, which they did. In fact, Tribe forward Renee Kohler managed to get a strong shot off in just the 2^nd minute of play.

Kohler had another shot in the 5^th minute that was deflected out for a corner kick. But ensuing on the corner kick, a foul in the box gave the Hokies the ball.

Such was the story of the Tribe all evening. It seemed to be a repeated cycle of moving the ball in deep, getting a couple strikers in the box for an upcoming chance, only to squander it away.

Meanwhile on the Hokies’ side of the ball, the game got off to a very slow start. With William & Mary dominating early possession, Tech needed to make the most of every opportunity it had with the ball.

Unfortunately for the Hokies, their midfielders continuously turned the ball over and made the game much more difficult for the defense and Alia Skinner in goal.

It wasn’t until the 21^st minute that the Hokies had their first chance to score when Karlie Johnson found Nicole Koslova in the box. The ball was fast onto her feet and she pushed it wide.

Later, in the 29^th minute, Johnson was given a chance in the box when she tried to curl it into the far post. Once again, Tech wasn’t able to capitalize as she wasn’t able to curl the kick enough pushed the just wide right.

That miss wasn’t too costly, though, as Emily Gray fired a laser into the top half of the net a minute later to put the Hokies up, 1-0.

In the quest for a goal of their own, Tribe defender Lauren Kelly was booked for an aggressive foul, giving Tech a free kick and a great opportunity to double its lead.

And that’s exactly what happened when Gray took the free kick, sending the ball into the box. The ball bounced around before finding the foot of Molly Feighan, who buried it into the back of the net for her second goal of the season.

Following the two goals, the momentum swung heavily in the Hokies’ favor. There were several other chances to close out the first half as William & Mary’s goalie, Zoe Doughty, struggled to fend the shots off.

Coming out of the half, the two teams combined for 11 substitutions, hoping that the fresh legs could spark some extra chances for their respective sides.

Renee Kohler began the offensive attack for the Tribe, but the Tech defense was much more ready for her challenges.

William & Mary kept pressing for the first 10 minutes of the half and it looked like it had some momentum swinging its way. That all ended in an instant when a huge mental lapse by Page Frantz resulted in a penalty kick for Emily Gray, which she put away with ease, extending the lead to three.

Despite audible encouragement from the bench, the Tribe continued to struggle getting their offense going. They were either over-eager with their shots which sailed over the goal or turned the ball over deep in the offensive zone.

With roughly 15 minutes left, both sides swapped out their starting goalkeepers and other starters, as the outcome became clear.

Freshman Alia Skinner notched her third shutout for the season, recording six saves on 15 shots.

Tech will have some time off before traveling up the road to Lynchburg to take on the Liberty Flames on April 1 at 6 p.m.

William & Mary will try and bounce back next Sunday at home against UNC Wilmington.