Hokies Nearly Stun No. 2 Clemson in 2-2 Thriller 

Robbie Ackerly

Staff Writer

November 1, 2024

BLACKSBURG - Virginia Tech had No. 2 Clemson on the ropes for 77 minutes in the Hokies’ regular season finale, ultimately fighting to a 2-2 draw to close out the regular season on Friday night at a jam-packed Thompson Field. 

Under the lights, the Hokies (7-5-4, 1-5-2 ACC) came alive, out-shooting and out-playing the Tigers (11-2-3, 5-2-1) for most of the fixture. It was the missed opportunities and mistakes, however, that killed Tech’s upset bid. 

“It’s the Ying and the Yang," Hokies head coach Mike Brizendine said after the game. “We play against the No. 2 team in the country, we miss six breakaway goals … [we] can’t do that.” 

The Hokies were aggressive from the get-go, as junior forward CJ Coppola was just barely denied by Clemson keeper Joseph Andema in the first minute of play. 

This set the tone for the first half, as the Hokies were firing on all cylinders. 

In the 17th minute, sophomore forward Olivar Roche broke free from the Tigers defense, but ultimately collided with Andema, resulting in the Clemson keeper being carted off, ending his night.  Backup junior goalie Patrick Donavan would play for the remainder of the contest. 

With the 2nd string goalie guarding the net, the Hokies looked to take advantage. 

Tech opened its scoring in the 29th minute, when sophomore defender Noe Uwimana fired a cross Donavan’s way. The ball hit both hands of the goalie before ricocheting off a Clemson defender and ending up in the Tigers’ net. 

1-0, Hokies. 

With Thompson Field’s crowd showing shades of a Lane Stadium audience, the Hokies took the advantage and ran with it. 

In the 32nd minute, Roche plucked the ball away from the Tigers defense, leaving nothing in front of him apart from Donavan. 

The keeper couldn’t do much as Roche delivered a right footed strike into the bottom left of the net. 

With only 33 minutes gone by it was 2-0 in favor of the home team. 

For the next 10 minutes, Virginia Tech stood tall, but with the Tigers on the prowl, the Hokies could not keep them off the board forever. 

Right before the half, Clemson forward Alex Meinhard silver spooned fellow forward Ransford Gyan for an easy tap-in to give the Tigers the momentum heading into the half. 

With a 2-1 lead after 45, the Hokies needed to do two things in the second half: put away their chances and keep the Tigers at bay.

Both of these missions failed.

From the start of the back 45 and for almost thirty minutes, Virginia Tech and Clemson fought back and forth, up and down Thompson field. 

In what was a very chippy second half, the Hokies kept Clemson relativity away from the net. But, the Tigers would not go away.

In the 77th minute, a free kick delivered perfectly into the box by Ransford Gyan found the top of senior midfielder Joran Gerbet’s head and floated just over Cooper Wenzel to tie things up in Blacksburg. 

With Clemson coming back, Tech stomped on the gas pedal in search of the go ahead goal. 

Like previously mentioned, Virginia Tech ripped off seven shots in the final 11 minutes, none of which connected the ball with mesh. 

With the draw, Tech ended its regular season with a record of 7-5-4 — a massive improvement from last seasons 4-9-4. In fact, the Hokies equaled their win total from the past two seasons combined with seven victories. 

With the Hokies regular season all wrapped up, Virginia Tech now sets its sights on the ACC Men’s Soccer Championship, which could have strong implications on the future of this season.

“If we get a result [in the tournament], we are in the playoffs,” Brizendine said. “We still control our own destiny.”

Control their own destiny they do, as the Hokies have every right to believe they can take home the ACC Championship that kicks off Nov. 6th. 

And even if it fails to win the entire tournament, Virginia Tech still makes a strong case for an at-large bid.