virginia tech clobbers miami on a record-setting night

Nick Cheshire

October 16, 2020

BLACKSBURG – On Thursday night, Virginia Tech scored an astonishing eight goals against Miami while cruising to a commanding 8-2 victory.

The shots came early and often at Miami’s goalkeeper Tyler Speaks, who allowed six goals in the first half. Seventeen minutes into the match, Virginia Tech racked up six shots — four of which found the back of the net.

The Hokies looked like a well-oiled machine early, attacking and forcing two quick saves. They drew first blood in the 10th minute on a goal from midfielder Emmalee McCarter, her first of the season, but didn’t stop there. Tech added a trio of goals in the next seven minutes of play from defender Emma Steigerwald and forwards Karlie Johnson and Tori Powell.

The Hurricanes, who quickly found themselves in a 4-0 hole, looked to cut into the deficit and were able to force Virginia Tech goalkeeper Alia Skinner, who already leads the nation in saves, to make multiple stops.

But before long, the Hokies struck again.

The onslaught continued on a goal in the 31st minute from forward Allyson Brown with Emily Gray tallying her fourth assist of the night, a new single-game program record for the New Jersey native. The goal stretched the lead to a commanding 5-0 for Tech. The Hurricanes, refusing to roll over, got themselves on the board with a tally of their own just two minutes later on a goal scored by defender Lexi Castellano-Mugica.

However, Virginia Tech negated the Miami momentum quickly, adding the cherry on top of an explosive first half performance on a goal from freshman forward Taylor Bryan in the 38th minute that was assisted by Brown. The six tallies marked the first time in school history that Tech scored six goals in any half.

Finding themselves in a 6-1 deficit, the Hurricanes made a change in net to start the second half, electing to swap out Speaks for sophomore Melissa Dagenais.

The swap didn’t stop Tech’s torrent attack as the Hokies added a seventh tally in the 57th minute on a long-range blast from Makenzie Graham, increasing the score to 7-1.

In the 79th minute, the Hokies pulled Skinner, giving redshirt sophomore S.A. Phillips some action. Shortly after, midfielder Katarina Molina scored the second goal of the night for Miami. Tech soon built the lead back to six in the 84th minute on Brown’s second strike of the night. Brown’s two-goal effort marked the first time a Hokie scored two goals off the bench since forward Murielle Tiernan did the same against William and Mary in 2016. Her final strike also marked her fifth point of the night, a feat last reached in 2015 against Pittsburgh by former Tech midfielder Laila Gray.

“We’ve had a couple of games where we had slow starts, so the emphasis this week was trying to be ready for the start, be prepared and kind of set a tone for the match,” Virginia Tech head coach Chugger Adair said. “I think the team did that tonight. We committed from the start and we asserted ourselves.”

Virginia Tech notched its second win of the year to move to 2-6 overall, picking up three points in the conference and putting them at 2-3 in the ACC. Miami sits at 0-6 on the season and 0-5 in ACC play.

Both teams are back in action on Sunday as Miami travels to Pittsburgh, looking for its first victory of the year against the Panthers, while Virginia Tech hosts Louisville in the second of a three-game homestand.