virginia tech caps off regular season with win over no. 8 virginia

Jack Brizendine

April 24, 2021

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Less than ninety seconds into the game, Sarah Lubnow sprinted upfield, cut through three Virginia defenders and sniped the top of the net and gave Virginia Tech an early 1-0 advantage.

The score ignited a Hokie squad that hadn’t had much to cheer about recently, losing five of its six games prior to the matchup. Shortly after Lubnow’s score, Virginia Tech (5-10, 1-8) jumped out to a 5-0 run, en route to a 20-15 victory over No. 8 Virginia (8-7, 3-7).

The win marks the first time in program history that the Hokies have beaten the Cavaliers in Charlottesville. The victory also gave Virginia Tech its first ACC win of the season.

Lubnow’s initial score led the charge on the Hokies’ 6-0 run in the first nine minutes of the game.

The Cavaliers responded a minute later with a score from Mackenzie Hoeg as she popped a shot over the head of goalkeeper Angie Benson.

Uncle Mo hopped back on Virginia Tech’s side from that point on, as the Hokies scored five of the next six goals to build a 10-2 lead with 13 minutes left in the first half.

Virginia Tech held onto a 13-5 lead going into halftime after each side scored three goals apiece in the final ten minutes of the first half.

Sara Goodwin opened up the second half with a score to build Virginia Tech’s lead back up to nine goals, but a subsequent goal from Ashlyn McGovern brought Virginia back within eight.

Both sides went back and forth over the next six minutes, scoring three goals each. The Cavaliers netted six of the final nine goals, but it wasn’t enough to combat the early scoring surge from the Hokies.

Goal scorers for Virginia Tech include Caroline Allen, Emma Crooks, Whitney Liebler, Paige Petty, Paige Tyson, Goodwin, and Lubnow. Petty had a particularly impressive showing for the Hokies, finding the back of the net six times to snag a pair of hat tricks.

Virginia Tech takes the field Wednesday against Syracuse (12-2, 8-2) at 5 p.m. in Chapel Hill in the first round of the ACC tournament. The game will be televised on the ACC Network.