Hokies storm back late to earn draw in thrilling clash

By Nels Williams

Staff Writer

October 13, 2022

BLACKSBURG – All hope seemed lost for a Virginia Tech comeback in the Commonwealth Clash Thursday night at Thompson Field when No. 13 Virginia scored its third goal of the game in the 58th minute, increasing the Cavaliers’ lead over the Hokies to 3-1.

Then, with less than eleven minutes remaining, Tech forward Taylor Bryan made it 3-2 for Virginia Tech. All of a sudden, there was a buzz of optimism and excitement in the air.

And, with 39.2 seconds remaining in the match, in a moment that the few thousand fans in attendance will never forget, Bryan came up clutch. While falling backwards in the box, Bryan fired a pass she received from defender Aino Vourinen off her left foot past UVa goalkeeper Cayla White, turning Thompson Field into bedlam.

“The ball didn’t even look like it was coming to me, but I just had to throw my body in there and just get a body part on it. And I opened my eyes and it went in,” Bryan explained.

When the whistle blew a minute later, Virginia Tech (9-4, 3-3-1 ACC) walked off the pitch jubilant, successfully tying rival Virginia (10-2-3, 3-2-2 ACC) in a 3-3 thriller.

“We’ve tried to make it crazy in those moments, try to make it hectic and make some chaos for us moving forward, and we’ve been able to do that in a couple matches,” Tech head coach Chugger Adair said. “I’d rather us not be in that position, but I’m proud of the girls and the ladies for getting the result there and getting a tie out of that because it could have been easily a loss. So [I am] pleased with that.”

Virginia Tech is now 4-18-2 all-time against Virginia. This was the first time the two rivals had played each other since September 2020.

The Hokies opened the scoring in the 30th minute thanks to forward Taylor Price, who headed a bouncing ball that was arced in from a corner kick in the bottom left corner by midfielder Natalie Mitchell. The header was the freshman’s team-leading eighth goal of the season.

“I’ve said this a million times and I’ll say it again … it’s just so fun to play with her [Price],” Powell said. “We work so well together. We know where the other one is. I know where she’s going to be and what kind of ball she wants. And that’s pretty impressive to have just a year and to already have that under our belts together.”

The game remained a tight, back-and-forth battle until the end of the first half. But Virginia quickly roared back in the beginning of the second half, putting two goals past Tech goalkeeper Lauren Hargrove within 13 seconds in the 49th minute.

The first goal for the Cavaliers came thanks to a perfectly placed stretch pass from forward Haley Hopkins to midfielder Jill Flammia, who worked her way past a charging Hargrove and placed it perfectly between two Hokie defenders to even the score.

Virginia then took advantage of sloppy passing in the Virginia Tech backfield after the ensuing kickoff to take their first lead of the game. Forward Alexa Spaanstra connected with a streaking Haley Hopkins, and the forward juked the goalkeeper by shifting from her right foot to her left, flying the ball into a wide open net.

The Thompson Field crowd fell silent, stunned at the sequence of events that had just unfolded.

Ten minutes later in the 58th minute, Virginia would tack on one more. Hopkins delivered again for UVA, heading in a ball that was volleyed in by midfielder Alexis Theoret off of a free kick for her second goal of the match and ACC-leading 10th goal of the season.

Virginia Tech would not go quietly into the night, however. The rally began in the 79th minute after Powell quickly touched midfielder Emma Pelkowski’s pass right to a bolting Bryan in the box, who ran up and launched a shot that White deflected with her right hand. The ball looped just enough to bounce right before the goal-line and into the back of the net before any UVA defenders could deny her try.

The Hokies, determined to stage a comeback, swarmed and pressed hard in the remaining 10 minutes, looking to capitalize off any chance of UVa breaking under late pressure. And with less than a minute remaining, they finally did, and Bryan became the hero for the Hokies Thursday night.

Bryan now has four goals on the season for Virginia Tech, which leaves her and forward Sophie Maltese tied for third on the team in the category.

“It just makes me proud,” Powell said. “We put in the work every day and to have that show and that we didn’t quit the whole game just makes me proud and excited for our success and future.

Virginia Tech’s now has three games remaining in the regular season, and their closing stretch won’t be easy. Two of their last three opponents are ranked in the top 1o nationally — No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 4 Florida State.

“It’s gonna be a dogfight, Bryan said.