Miami upsets no. 24 Virginia Tech for first acc win

By Kolbjorn Bergstrom

Staff Writer

October 6, 2022

Put into an awkward situation by her own defender, Virginia Tech goalkeeper Lauren Hargrove tried to clear the ball from almost off her post, but it did not go far. Quickly building up the play again, Miami found yet another opportunity inside the box, the ball eventually finding a wide-open Katerina Molina.

The junior forward buried her shot into the bottom-right corner. The sequence perfectly summarized the game up until this point, the Hokies making simple mistakes and beating itself.

Coming off a dramatic upset victory over then-No. 3 North Carolina, No. 24 Virginia Tech (9-3-1, 3-2 ACC) looked to have a straight-forward matchup ahead of it at last-place Miami (4-5-2, 1-4 ACC).

The Hurricanes had other plans, though, and snapped a five-game losing streak with a 3-1 win, their first conference victory of the year.

as they looked to snap a five game losing streak after having arguably their best performance this past weekend in a 1-0 loss to No. 3 Florida State.

Virginia Tech controlled the first 20 minutes, recording the game’s first six shots with a 3-2 edge in corners. It felt as if a goal was imminent for the Hokies, but then the tide of the match quickly shifted.

In the 38th minute, Miami had its second corner of the half, and forward Megan Morgan had a trick up her sleeve. She crossed the ball low and towards the near post and the ball looked to be a textbook cleanup for either Hargrove or her defender at the front post, but defender Adrianna Serna beat them both to the ball and tapped it by them and into the net. Just like that, Miami broke the run of play to obtain its second lead of the ACC season.

Though not ideal, Virginia Tech had a lot of success in the first half to build on. It led the contest in shots (6-3), corners (5-2), and overall possession. Virginia Tech also entered the match successful in the second half, outscoring opponents 5-0 in its past three games.

In other words, Tech was still in the match if it could avoid any more self-inflicted errors.

Just under 15 minutes into the second half, Hokie midfielder Lauren Gogal lost the ball in a bad spot of the midfield, an uncharacteristic mistake for the sophomore. Now with the ball, Miami midfielder Lauren Meeks drove to the top of Virginia Tech’s box and took the shot.

What looked to be a savable shot was mistaken for going wide by Hargrove, as it tipped off the post and into the back of the net, doubling the home side’s lead.

The Molina goal would be the the third of the competition for the Hurricanes, effectively squashing any encouragement the Hokies had of getting back into the match.

Even though there was certainly enough time to get back into the game, the momentum had completely swung in favor of Miami. However, the home side would not escape with a clean sheet.

Off a cross from the left sideline from defender Ava Veith, forward Allie George headed home a goal for the Hokies. George’s second goal of the season was well put together, but it was too little too late for the visitors.

The Hokies will look to bounce back on its second game of this road trip as it travels to Clemson to take on the Tigers. Since 2015, Clemson has had Virginia Tech’s number, with six wins and one tie in the past seven games.