Virginia Tech's Season Ends In First-Round Exit

Jacob Sprigg

Staff Writer

April 21, 2024

Virginia Tech's season came to an end in a loss to Louisville in the first round of the ACC Tournament. (Virginia Tech Athletics)

BLACKSBURG – No. 9 seed Louisville (8-10) grabbed a first-round victory over No. 8 seed Virginia Tech (9-9) in the first round of the ACC Tournament, 13-11. 

Both teams coming into the battle knew their season was at risk with a loss. Each team came into the first-round matchup on a two-game skid, one looking to come out prevailing. 

Throughout the entirety of the game, this was a game of runs, where each team scored 2-3 goals, and the other team would respond right back. The Hokies got on the board first, with Louisville striking right back. After that the Hokies only led one more time after going up 2-1 in the first, as the Cardinals seemed to control the pace of the game very well. 

The second quarter was all offense from both teams, as 11 total goals were scored. The Cardinals went into halftime with a one goal lead, 9-8. 

The second half was a defensive battle on each side of the ball, where 7 combined goals were scored. Both teams played very physically, each having multiple opportunities scoring from the free position. Louisville overcame all Virginia Tech threw at them, advancing to the second round of the tournament. 

When looking at all team stats, the Cards led in pretty much every category, giving credit to both sides of the ball. The Cards shut down one of the Hokies best offensive players, Olivia Vergano, where she was not able to find the back of the net on multiple shot attempts. Louisville’s defense forced nine second-half turnovers out of Tech’s offense, the most in a half for their season. 

Each team had its offensive stars in the game, Louisville’s Nicole Perroni scoring four, and Kokoro Nakazawa scoring 3. Lauren Render of Virginia Tech continued her recent tear, scoring a game high five goals for the Hokies. Graduate students Paige Tyson and Kayla Downey were able to link up four times, Downey cashing the assists and Tyson finding the net. 

“We didn’t put together four quarters, we weren’t the team who had a gritty enough performance today,” Tech head coach Kristen Skiera said postgame.

Skiera was also asked about her message to some of the graduating athletes on her team. 

“This experience is hands down the best one of your life and have this be your college experience,” she said. “We have 17 seniors; it hits you like a ton of bricks when it’s over.” 

She shouted out her seniors, thankful for what each and every single one of them have done for their program. 

The Hokies go out in an unfortunate way to end their season, as the Louisville Cardinals advance to the quarterfinals where they will play Syracuse on Wednesday.