Hokies Face Cavaliers to Warm up for regular season

Kolbjorn Bergstrom

February 23, 2021

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — In a preseason exhibition ahead of the season opener on Sunday against Coastal Carolina, Virginia Tech faces off against rival Virginia at 1 p.m. in Charlottesville on Tuesday.

This is the lone exhibition both sides will play before having their first games of the season.

UVa faces George Mason in Charlottesville in its season opener at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 2, while the Hokies are in action against the Chanticleers in Conway, S.C. at 1 p.m. on Feb. 28.

Both Virginia Tech and Virginia had quality seasons in the fall, emphasized by their respective rankings in the NCAA Men’s DI National Poll during their campaigns.

UVa was a staple of the poll for four weeks in a row, reaching as high as third, but did not finish in the top five at the end of the season. The Cavaliers finished with a 2-3-1 in ACC regular season play and defeated Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals before falling to Clemson in the semis.

VT reached as high as fourth and sat in the top five for a majority of the season, finishing with a record of 3-1-2 in ACC play before bowing out against Clemson in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.

The two sides met two times last season, with the result in Blacksburg ending in a 1-1 draw behind goals from Tech’s Khalil Dover and Virginia’s Joan Gilbert. In the match in Charlottesville, the Hokies knocked off the Cavaliers for the first time since 2005 behind a 32’ goal from Daniel Pereira.

Speaking of Pereira, the Roanoke native was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft by Austin FC and will not be coming back to Blacksburg this spring.

Six other players from both schools had the honor of being drafted inside the top 50, with five of those selections from UVa.

In the first round, the Cavaliers saw right back Bret Halsey get drafted at No. 7 by Real Salt Lake and midfielder Irakoze Donasiyano by Nashville SC at No. 20.

Forwards Daniel Steedman (Austin FC) and Nathaniel Crofts (Toronto FC) were selected in the second round of the draft alongside goalkeeper Colin Shutler, who was picked by FC Dallas. Virginia Tech forward Kristofer Strickler was the Hokies’ lone draft pick outside of Pereira, selected by the Houston Dynamo with the third pick in the second round.

This fixture between the Hokies and Cavaliers will be the first of two meetings this season — the rivals are scheduled to square off again in Charlottesville on March 19 in conference play.

Virginia leads the all-time series 32-6-3, though the Hokies have been fought back this century. All three of Tech’s wins in the series have come since the Hokies joined the ACC in 2004. In the last 12 meetings, Virginia Tech is 1-5-6.