hokies' second half explosion leads to fourth straight win

Ryan Duval

Contributing Writer

September 28, 2021

BLACKSBURG — Ten minutes into the second half, No. 11 Virginia Tech struck a play that would shift the momentum in its favor.

As senior midfielder Kyle McDowell trotted along the left side of the field and near the box, he sent a pass through several defenders that would end up at the feet of midfielder Connor Pugh. And after a single touch, Pugh used his right foot to quickly sneak the ball by the East Tennessee State goalkeeper Josh Perryman into the bottom right corner of the net, giving the Hokies a 1-0 lead in the 55^th minute.

It would be all they needed, as the Hokies (6-1-2) would go on to beat the Buccaneers (2-3-2) 2-0 in a mid-week break from ACC play.

The match started out a little dull, with a ton of action happening early in the first half. There were a few chances for each team, with Pugh and Jacob Labovitz showing their playmaking prowess near the goal, but were unable to convert.

Fans got to see some action as the half ran down however, as a handball from Tech midfielder Mayola Kinyua resulted in an ETSU free kick that was only saved due to the tremendous effort from goalkeeper Ben Martino. The save was one of four for the 6-foot-6 freshman, whose tall stature allowed him to be a brick wall in goal all night, as he recorded his first career clean sheet.

However, when the second half began, it was clear that the Hokies had too much firepower to play down to ETSU’s level. They dominated the Buccaneers side of the field throughout the back half of the match, with Pugh being the first to net a goal. It was his second goal of the year, but he wasn’t done making plays quite yet.

With 25 minutes remaining, the sophomore midfielder played a ball on the ground from the right side into the box where striker Nick Blacklock was waiting. Blacklock calmly put a move on the defender in front of him, and with space, slotted the ball into the lower left corner of the goal. It doubled the lead, and sealed the match for VT.

Newly named co-offensive ACC player of the week Danny Flores was given a yellow card in the 76^th minute, and it led to things getting chippy, with both teams showing a bit of temper. ETSU defender Dominic Foster was given a red card for tripping a VT player, and as a result, the Buccaneers would have to play the remaining 14 minutes down a man.

But in the end, it was the Hokies’ fourth straight win, following overtime golden goals against Virginia and Notre Dame, and a 3-2 win at William & Mary last week.

Tech head coach Mike Brizendine was “pleased” with the win, but is looking for his team to get ahead earlier, and become more dominant in the first half of games.

“I thought tonight was a step in the right direction,” said Brizendine. At half he told the team “We have to pick it up, or they're gonna get us. The best thing we’ll need is big players to step up at big times.”

Brizendine said that these mid-week games are very important for the team, and that they hope to build upon this win over what he calls a “sneaky-good” ETSU team.

The Hokies, who continue to surge up the standings, and national ranking each week remain second in the ACC coastal standings, only behind the Duke Blue Devils.

Even after contributing to both the Hokies’ goals, Pugh was more focused on the next game however, as he talked about the importance of each game, especially as ACC play resumes.

“All of the ACC games we’ve been in, it's been a dogfight,” Pugh said. “I think it comes down to who wants it more at the end, we’ll regroup, rebuild and go at it again [against Boston College] on Friday.”