Vergano's Game Winning Goal Lifts Hokies Over no. 13 Dukes For the First Time in Program History

By Will Locklin

Staff Writer

February 16, 2022

As the clock dwindled down in a tie game, someone on Virginia Tech needed to step up and make a play. While No. 13 James Madison had led most of the way, the Hokies were in the midst of a rally. Down two goals with less than 10 minutes to go, Sophie Student scored two unassisted goals to knot the game at nine.

Now, Virginia Tech just needed one player to seal the deal. And that person was freshman Olivia Vergano.

With just over two minutes to go in the final period, Vergano spun to her right side, moving past JMU’s Rachel Matey in the process. She then rifled a shot into the upper-left corner of the goal to give Tech the score it desperately needed, giving Virginia Tech (1-1) a 10-9 win over the Dukes (0-2) at Sentara Park in Harrisonburg. Vergano’s game-winner marked her second goal of her college career, the first one coming in the third period off an assist from Sarah Lubnow.

The tight victory is no doubt a landmark one in Virginia Tech’s history. It marked the program’s first win in 19 tries against JMU, and head coach Kristen Skiera’s first win as the team's head coach after she was hired following John Sung’s departure last spring.

You could see just how much the win meant to the Hokies by the way the Virginia Tech bench cleared the field as the game ended. It’s a win that builds confidence and serves for a less-experienced team.

For Virginia Tech, Vergano earned the glory by scoring the game-winning goal, but she wasn’t the only contributor. Team captain Sarah Lubnow notched six points on the night, scoring twice and assisting on four other goals, more helpers than JMU had as a team (three).

Sophie Student led the Hokies in goals with a hat trick. Two of them came at that pivotal point in the fourth period when they were down two goals. Junior Paige Tyson also stood out, scoring Tech’s first two goals in the first period.

JMU came out as the aggressors to start the game, though. JMU scored the first two goals of the game via Isabella Peterson and Tai Jankowski. And through two periods, the Dukes led Tech in shots (16 to 10) and draw controls (11 to one).

Peterson was easily the best player on the field, scoring three goals in the first two periods. She ended the contest with four goals on four shots.

Jankowski also came out and aggressively searched for her own shot. She put up five chances, three of which were on goal. Out of those three, two found the back of the net, and she also scored a ground ball to shift the momentum.

That changed in the second half thanks to Virginia Tech’s stellar defensive improvement. After allowing six first half goals, Tech only let through three goals the rest of the way. Keeper Morgan Berman tallied eight saves for a 47% save rate.

Olivia Mattis, Lizzy Fox, and Taylor Marchetti scored the other three goals for the Dukes.

Virginia Tech will take on VCU this Saturday for its home opener at 1 p.m.