hokies, minutemen draw in epic regular season finale

Ishan Lamba

April 18, 2021

BLACKSBURG — No. 25 Virginia Tech (6-6-3, 5-5-2) concluded its regular season on a short week against the UMass Minutemen (7-1-3, 3-1-2) in a heated home clash.

UMass came into Saturday’s match following a victory over divisional foe La Salle and placed second in the A-10 North Division. Meanwhile, Tech entered Saturday following two scrappy road victories against ACC opponents UNC and Notre Dame.

Both teams were vying for one of just 14 at-large bids for the spring NCAA tournament starting later this month.

The game opened with the Minutemen stunning the home crowd, as Filippo Begliardi Ghidini netted a brilliant through ball from Graham Brenner in the eighth minute for his fifth goal of the season.

With an early goal under their belt, UMass tried to play back, running a 4-4-2 for most of the game. With a crowded box, the Hokies struggled to complete chances and their shots either deflected wide or were broken up.

The Hokies suffered their first blow in the form of defender Nathan Durst, who left the game in the 20th minute after a tough challenge.

Following the injury break, the Hokies broke through in the 22^nd minute, when forward Nick Blacklock converted on a feed from midfielder Chris Little to score his second goal of the season and level the score at one. The goal lit a spark for the Hokies, leading to an offensive barrage.

From the 30^th to the 33^th minute, the Hokies laid shot after shot on UMass goalkeeper Marvyn Dorchin. Saves from point blank range on midfielder Birkir Eythorsson, midfielder Kristo Strickler, and defender Sivert Haugli frustrated the Hokie players and fans alike.

A light afternoon drizzle cooled the onslaught and neither team got too close to the net until the halftime whistle blew.

The second half began with a cycle of the Hokies gaining possession, working the ball into the attacking third and losing possession on a miscue. Either a UMass interception, VT foul, or errant shot wide of goal cost the Hokies many chances.

The Hokies kept getting closer and closer until Eythorsson finally broke the deadlock in the 67^th minute.

Defender Jakob Bluemler lobbed a grab ball into the box and Eythorsson headed away into the bottom corner of the net for his first goal of the season. The score gave Virginia Tech its first lead of the game, but it didn’t last long.

UMass stunned the crowd in two goals in the 70^th and 73^rd minutes on two innocent looking plays.

The first goal was set up by a corner kick that bounced around in the box before VT’s goalkeeper Matt Zambetti punched it forward, straight onto the foot of Nathaniel Cordoza, who kicked it on the bounce into the upper 90.

The second was a result of well-strung passes that found the foot of Begliardi Ghidini in the box for him to complete his brace and put UMass up 3-2.

Bluemler left the game with an injury as he crashed into the goal post trying to make the save. He departed with a lower leg injury, and was seen leaving the game on crutches.

Virginia Tech, with its depleted defense, tried to mount a comeback with its season on the line.

The wait wasn’t long.

Zane Bubb crossed a ball into the box that took a deflection off a UMass defender and into the back of the net.

After conceding an own goal, UMass didn’t want to take any chances, playing with eight men back until the full-time whistle.

With the scores level after the first 90 minutes couldn’t decide a winner, the Hokies felt a little nervous about chances, after having lost two two overtime games to Clemson and Pitt earlier in the spring.

Just two minutes into overtime, forward Jacob Labovitz almost knocked in the game winner as the ball bounced towards him. He tried a half-hearted bicycle kick, attempting to replicate his sensational goal vs. Duke, but the kick bounced just wide.

The Minutemen had their chance in the 96^th minute after a miscued goal kick saw them with possession charging towards the box.

There was heavy contact in the box and despite player and bench protests, the head referee didn’t award the penalty to UMass.

A similar situation arose at the start of the second overtime period, when UMass again worked its way into the box, only for the ball to be poked away after some back-and-forth action.

The match came to the ultimate climax in the 105^th minute, when a hard shot by Strickler in the box was kick saved by Dorchin. Dorchin’s deflection caused the rebound to find the foot of Labovitz, who netted the game winner.

That was until a flag flew into the air. Offside. No goal.

The match ended in a 3-3 draw, as both teams felt as though they had missed out on a game-winning goal.

“I think it was unfortunate that we tied, I think we dominated that game,” Little told 3304 Sports after the game.

Strickler echoed his teammate’s sentiment to 3304 Sports, “it was unlucky, they fought hard and their style was really hard to play against. … We both ended up getting the tie.”

Strickler, who nervously awaits his team’s fate regarding the NCAA spring tournament, talked about playing his potential final game for the maroon and orange.

“I’d be really pleased to make the NCAA tournament, but I’ve been talking to Houston [Dynamo], [Houston head coach] Tab Ramos, and he wants me to finish out the college season,” Strickler said. “But I’m also anxious and excited to get to Houston, try to integrate myself there and try to make an influence.”

Both Virginia Tech and UMass completed their regular seasons and now eagerly await the NCAA’s decision, hoping to qualify for the modified spring tournament beginning April 29.