hokies squeak out 1-0 win over nc state in rain-soaked affair

Ishan Lamba

Staff Writer

September 19, 2021

BLACKSBURG — It was just moments after the whistle blew to start the second half when the skies above Blacksburg began to cloud and drench the 1,400 fans in attendance.

Most immediately headed for the exits, but the few who stayed got to witness Virginia Tech grind out a hard-fought 1-0 victory over NC State.

It would be the Hokies’ (7-2, 1-0 ACC) seventh consecutive win at Thompson Field, dating back to last October against a ranked Louisville team. It was also the Tech’s first win over the Wolfpack (4-3-2, 0-1 ACC) at home since 2012.

Saturday’s match was defined by offensive struggles in the box, as both teams had a multitude of chances that were ultimately thwarted.

Virginia Tech’s chances began right out of the gate.

In the second minute, a Gabbie Johnson cross, which met Tori Powell’s head in front of the net, was steered just wide of goal.

Two minutes later, Emily Gray chipped a long cross over to Nicole Kozlova, who found herself one-on-one with the goalkeeper Maria Echezarreta. A chance that Kozlova typically makes the most of was not converted, as her shot was just a little too strong and sailed just over the net.

NC State’s offense didn’t lag too far behind. Although Tech dominated the early goal-scoring opportunities, the Wolfpack displayed a much cleaner passing game, which nearly netted them a goal.

In the 18^th minute, Annika Wohner controlled the ball off a throw-in and swiveled the ball around for her teammate, Denae Antoine, whose shot rolled just inches wide of the net.

Antoine had another chance four minutes later, when Jameese Joseph won a ball from Makenzie Graham. Joseph worked her way into the box before crossing it back to Antoine, who rocketed a shot on net, but found the sturdy hands of Alia Skinner.

The final chance for either team to strike first came in the 35^th minute, courtesy of Aino Vuorinen. The freshman came off the bench and drilled a shot from the top of the box into the top right corner of the net. The diving Echezarreta managed to steer it wide to keep the match scoreless.

Heading into the half, it was a slight surprise that neither team had scored yet. Virginia Tech had numerous chances but failed to finish them off. Meanwhile, NC State also had threatening possessions, but completing the final pass before the shot was often where the Wolfpack fell apart

Joseph had continued to be a thorn in the Virginia Tech defense for much of the first half, and limiting her eventually became a key to a Hokies victory.

The second half started horribly for them, as Joseph would work her way up the field and take a shot that soared past Skinner, deflected off the woodwork and back out into Skinner’s arms, all within the first 30 seconds of the half.

Joseph and Leyah Hall-Robinson both got a shot off in the next couple minutes, requiring Skinner to make some tough saves to deflect it away from net or into the crossbar. With their potent attack and dominant control of the midfield, the first 15 minutes of the second half was all Wolfpack.

As the pouring rain began to deteriorate the field, NC State almost scored its much-needed goal.

Coming off an NC State free kick, Victoria Haugen kicked the ball back to Skinner. Skinner, travelling the opposite direction as the ball, slipped, leaving a wide open net for Hall-Robinson. Both players raced towards the ball and Skinner managed to just get across to push Hall-Robinson’s shot onto the post and away from net.

Mother nature struck once more in the 72^nd minute, when a defensive miscue by the Hokies left Annika Wohner with a wide open field in front of her.

As Allie Lewis ran back to meet Wohner, Wohner had her teammate Fernanda Soto running up with a wide open lane in front of her. As Wohner laid the pass for Soto, Soto slipped and fell, spoiling a potential go-ahead goal.

Virginia Tech would make NC State pay on the next possession, as Gray fed a cross behind multiple NC State defenders for Karlie Johnson, who was sitting all alone at the back post, tapping the ball into the bottom of the net for her first goal in 15 games.

“Obviously, it has not been the best start to the year for me, but to get out there and do anything that I can to contribute and get on the board, it was great,” Johnson told 3304 Sports after the Hokies’ win.I honestly could not believe it when it went in, I was like, ‘oh my gosh, this is actually happening.’ It was really good, but I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. I’m just trying to contribute the best that I can.”

The Hokies were able to play out the remaining time and notch their seventh victory on the season. Despite the team’s win, head coach Chugger Adair was dissatisfied with its performance.

He told ACC Network in his halftime interview that he wanted the team to be more deliberate in their possessions, and he felt that it was not able to live up to that objective.

“No, I do not feel like we accomplished that,” he said in a post-game interview. “[NC State] made some adjustments, they switched to a 3-5-2, put us under a little bit of pressure and the rain came so the game got a bit hectic. We were good the first half, created a lot of chances but didn’t take ‘em, but they turned the tide in the second half with their adjustments and the rain.”

The rain, which came down in buckets, likely hurt the team’s defense and offensive opportunities. Coming into Sunday’s matchup, Tech had scored 16 goals in four home games, but was only able to notch a single goal against NC State.

“It does [affect them], it’s an emotional game,” Adair continued. “Alia [Skinner] slipped in a key moment where we could’ve given up a goal and could’ve changed the game. Emma [Stiegerwald] came back, recovered and tackled to save that ball from going to the goal and I think we did a really good job from then on trying to manage the game as much as we can.”

After a pair of 1-0 victories, the Hokies face their toughest challenge of the season: a road match vs. No. 2 North Carolina. The Virginia Tech coaching staff is well aware of the difficulty of playing against the perennial championship contenders.

“We need to recover, refocus, and think about how we want to play,” Adair said. “You know we had to deal with Jameese Joseph today, they have three or four Jameese Josephs. So it’ll be tough, I’ve got one of my assistants working on it right now and we’ll work on a game plan for UNC.”