Virginia Tech Holds Off High Point In Hard-Fought Victory

Bradley Winterling

Staff Writer

September 26, 2023

Conor Pugh helped Virginia Tech pull away from High Point with his goal in the 71st minute in the 3-2 victory. (Virginia Tech Athletics)

BLACKSBURG – Freshman Noe Uwimana continued to impress Virginia Tech fans after another thrilling goal just a few minutes into the game on Tuesday night. Uwimana helped the Hokies (3-2-3) get off to a hot start to defeat High Point (4-2-2), by a score of 3-2, notching their third conference win of the season.

The freshman scored a goal last Friday against Boston College that was all over the internet and wound up being featured as a SportsCenter Top 10 play.

Fast forward to Tuesday night, and Uwimana kicked off the action with a goal just inside the left corner of the 18-yard box, sailing over the keeper’s head. It gave the Hokies a 1-0 lead in just the 7th minute of the match.

“That was all God right there,” Uwimana said. “I’m not gonna lie, I haven't been feeling the best all week. I’ve been fighting an illness. Once I got that ball, something was telling me once I cut in to shoot and it paid off.” 

However, the Hokies did not hold on to their lead for very long. Anthony Ramirez answered for High Point in the 28th minute, tying up the game at 1-1. That’s where the match stood at the halftime intermission.

Tech got itself out to a comfortable lead about halfway through the second half, with a powerful goal from Declan Quill about 20 yards out in the 61st minute. Conor Pugh got in on the action just 10 minutes later with a perfect shot in the bottom right corner off an assist from Misei Yoshizawa in the 71st minute, giving the Hokies a 3-1 advantage. 

For a very brief moment, it felt as if the Hokies had a comfortable lead, until Kaya Ignacio answered just three minutes later to cut Tech’s lead to one in the 74th minute. 

“I mean this game, I knew what it was going to be,” Tech head coach Mike Brizendine said.  “I knew it was going to be like this. It was a street fight and not in a physical way, but just competitive. … If you want to be a good team you have to win these games.”

The Hokies held on for the final 16 minutes of the match, playing great defense and controlling the possession, resulting in a resilient victory that took a full team effort. 

“The team's togetherness has just been different recently,” Uwimana said. “In the beginning of the season when we had those three ties in a row we felt like something was missing.

“I think that was the team’s togetherness and chemistry, and now we can see that.”