sweet 16 brings hokies and seton hall together for first time since 2002

Kolbjorn Bergstrom

May 6, 2021

The road to the national championship continues through Cary, N.C. as Virginia Tech and No. 6 Seton Hall face off, with the winner taking on the winner of No. 3 Indiana and Marquette.

This past Sunday, the Hokies played an exciting match with Oregon State.

After the Beavers knotted the score up at one with three minutes left in regulation, Virginia Tech’s leading scorer Jacob Labovitz scored his second goal on the night with just under three seconds left in overtime 2-1 win.

Thursday evening’s match marks the fourth time in five years that head coach Mike Brizendine has taken his Hokies to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament. Though, the success has been limited as the Hokies have only advanced past the round once, and that was back in 2016 against Indiana.

No. 6 Seton Hall has had quite an impressive season to say the least. Coming into the match, the Pirates bolster a 10-1-3 record on the season with the added bonus of being the Big East Champions.

Like Virginia Tech, Seton Hall won its match in the last minute with a goal in the 89 minute coming from its own leading scorer, CJ Tibling.

Seton Hall made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and historically has not found much success in the Sweet 16. The most recent trip for the Pirates came back in 2001, where they suffered defeat to Fairleigh Dickinson 1-0.

Seton Hall has been perfect in neutral territory this season with two wins, while Virginia Tech holds a record of 1-1-0. The two sides will meet for the first time since 2002. Seton Hall won the first two previous matchups between the squads in 2001 and 2002.