Virginia Tech Falls Short Against Virginia In Commonwealth Clash

Miles Jordan

Staff Writer

October 31, 2024

BLACKSBURG — No. 12 Virginia Tech fell short against Virginia 1-0 in the 26th edition of the Commonwealth Clash on Thursday night at Thompson Field, which had significant implications for the ACC Tournament.  

Coming into the contest, the Hokies (11-4-3, 6-2-2 ACC) held the No. 3 ranking in the ACC behind Duke and North Carolina, respectively. Those squads faced off an hour before the two rivals from Virginia did, and with a Tar Heels loss, Tech could have improved to the No. 2 seed in the conference. 

That is precisely what happened, as Duke defeated UNC 3-2 in Chapel Hill, opening the door for the Hokies to advance to the top two in the ACC with a win over the Cavaliers (12-5, 5-5). 

However, a Tech victory was not in the cards after it conceded a goal in the 12th minute off of a corner kick from UVa. 

Cavaliers midfielder Lia Godfrey took the corner directly next to the UVa bench and fed a cross into the box for Meredith McDermott, who netted the only goal of the contest, feeding the ball past the Hokies keeper Lauren Hargrove off her right foot. 

Until then, the Hokies seemed to have the time of possession in their favor. However, an early goal changed the way Tech and head coach Chugger Adair decided to play the rest of the match. 

“When you are consistently chasing the game, [Virginia] can be a little bit more patient,” Adair said. “They don't have to have that same urgency that you need to come back in a game.”

Adair's statement rang true, especially in the first half, when UVa kept possession in its favor and stifled any opportunity the Hokies found, which were few and far between.

In the first half alone, the squad from Charlottesville recorded seven shots — including three on goal — while Tech captured just three shots, with only one finding the target.

With time running out in the first half, Tech subbed in forward Taylor Lewin. She immediately looked to impact the game by finding a cross into the box with her head and firing it at the UVa goalie Victoria Safradin for the Hokies' only shot on goal in the first half. 

While the play did not seem to impact the game directly, Lewin's spark off the bench and attack in the Cavaliers' 18-yard box seemed to give Tech much-needed life as it entered the second half. 

The second half's narrative seemed to be building up to a Hokie comeback as the maroon and orange flipped a switch and came out firing on all cylinders for the final 45 minutes of play.

The Hokies gave themselves more opportunities for a comeback in the second half, shooting the ball nine times — four of which found the target and needed to be saved by Safradin.

“I was proud of that second-half effort,” Adair said. “I was frustrated with the first half effort, but the second half was wonderful.”

Tech nearly found the equalizer in the 64th minute when Natalie Mitchell found herself in a breakaway opportunity with the Cavaliers keeper. Mitchell just had the goalie to beat, dribbled around her with a quick touch outside, and had an open net from about 12 yards outside the goal. 

However, she pushed her shot over the top crossbar, failing to capitalize on a golden chance. 

“I tried to take her off and tell her not to worry about it, move forward, and give her a little break,” Adair said. “Many of our kids had opportunities. One chance doesn't make the game.”

Just four minutes later, the Hokies were knocking at the door again. A cross found the feet of Tech forward Taylor Price around the penalty stripe, who struck the ball without hesitation at the UVa goal. But, her shot was just too far left, scraping the post.

After those two opportunities, the Cavaliers settled the game down and stopped giving the Hokies opportunities to damage UVa’s 1-0 lead. Tech clawed hard after going down a score in the first 15 minutes of play, but ultimately could not bounce back with a goal of their own. 

“I think the girls did a good job pushing and trying all they could, but we didn't have the quality tonight in the final third to push the game over the top,” Adair said. 

Regarding ACC standings, the Hokies dropped two spots to the No. 5 seed in the conference after a chance to capture the No. 2 seed with a victory over UVa. This was a game that Tech might wish it could get back, as not only did it fall short to its in-state rivals, but those same rivals changed the trajectory of the Hokies postseason with a single goal. 

Tech begins its postseason journey when it travels to Chapel Hill on Sunday, Nov. 4, to take on North Carolina in the first round of the ACC Tournament (6 p.m. ET, ACC Network).