Hokies, Highlanders Struggle to Finish in Thrilling New River Valley Draw

By Ishan Lamba

Staff Writer

September 2, 2022

BLACKSBURG — If you had a nickel for every promising play of the night that fizzled out for one reason or another, you might be able to grab a whole dinner at the Thompson Field concession stand.

That was just the type of night it was, with a win still eluding both Virginia Tech (0-2-1) and Radford (0-2-1) following a 0-0 draw.

Three matches into the 2022 season, Tech hasn’t scored a single goal.

“We can’t score goals,” Tech head coach Mike Brizendine said. “We’ve lost our goal scorers. I think we have guys that are doing the trick but I think it takes time … and there is no time. The season is upon us.”

Brizendine noted the lack of experience on offense as well.

“We don’t have a [Jacob Labovitz], we don’t have a [Kristo Strickler], we don’t have a [Marcelo Acuna]. Goals change games and if we can score one, we can score three.”

Labovitz led the Hokies with nine goals a year ago, while Strickler and Acuna netted 51 combined across six seasons in the maroon and orange.

Brizendine’s desire to score was evident from the start, as Tech came out in a more aggressive formation, opting to go with one less defender at the back. It wasn’t enough to score, but the Hokies still played well defensively.

“Defensively, we’re really strong,” Tech goalkeeper Ben Martino explained. “We’ve been really steady. Our main goal is just to try to keep a zero as long as we can to give our offense a chance, but there’s little mistakes like forgetting to mark a man in the box and [to] mark runners.”

Despite early pressure from the Hokies, the Highlanders held firm on defense and were aggressive when chasing the ball.

So while it was Tech’s first home game of the season, if you closed your eyes, you would have believed you were at Cupp Stadium down in Radford. An abundance of Highlander fans made the short journey up I-81 to cheer on their team, and they certainly had plenty to cheer about.

The first chance of the game came in the 16th minute, when a sharp angle curler from Radford midfielder Samuel Schwarz unexpectedly challenged Martino, forcing him to run off his line and dive to push it away from net.

Meanwhile, the Hokies’ continued to bring numbers forward and threaten in the box, but a stifling Highlanders back line repeatedly killed off Tech’s scoring chances.

In the 29th minute, the Hokies did find the back of the net when forward Ricki Vidal used some nifty footwork to get past goalkeeper Joseba Incera, but the offside flag was raised, and the game remained scoreless.

After 10 minutes of calm, there was a flurry of chances before the half.

Out of nowhere, the ball found Tech defender Welnilton da Silva Jr. in the box and he took a hard shot on target, but Incera’s right foot kept the ball from crossing the goal line.

The raucous Radford fans continued to express appreciation for their goalie’s efforts.

On the counterattack, Radford had a nice through ball that left Martino stranded. He was forced to sprint from his position to make the save before a shot could be taken.

Tech’s final chance came in the last minute of the first half from the freshman phenom from Japan, midfielder Misei Yoshizawa.

Yoshizawa took the ball across the face of goal, riding the 18-yard line, before striking across Incera’s body to beat him, only to be denied by the post.

In the 51st minute, the ball was inches from creeping across Tech’s goal line.

An unsuspecting shot from James Barrett near the near corner flag curled towards the net and Martino tipped it onto the post. The ball bounced lightly back out at the foot of a Highlander attacker and Martino stuffed his attempt before it had any power.

The chances would continue to come and go, with both teams unable to finish off their scoring opportunities.

Incera managed a couple more pivotal saves to keep Tech off the scoreboard, and it would remain that way until the final whistle.

Despite a strong defensive performance, the attitude among the Tech team looking ahead is crystal clear: This result is unacceptable and cannot happen again.

“Everyone has to take a look at themselves, even me,” Martino said. “I think we’re relying too much offensively on trying to get the ball out to the widths and our service hasn’t been good enough … We just have a lot of soul-searching to do. This is not acceptable.”

The Hokies will have a shot to capture their first win of the season on Monday when they host the Mercer Bears at 5 p.m.