Hokie ClubBlacksburg, Va. -- A second-half offensive run by the Blue Devils put the game out of reach for the Hokies, who fell 6-1 Saturday night at Thompson Field. Tech (4-11-1, 1-5-1) held the edge in corner kicks 4-1 over Duke (8-4-4, 2-3-2), but ultimately Duke capitalized on 15 shot opportunities against Tech’s eight.
The Blue Devils scored their first goal in the sixth minute, with Matthew Thomas taking an unassisted open shot from the top of the 18-yard box, his third goal of the season. Duke’s leading scorer Ryan Finley netted his first of three goals on the match in the 12th minute, his 15th on the season. After one half of play, Duke had outshot Tech 10-4, but only held a two-goal lead, giving Head Coach Mike Brizendine and his squad a chance for a second-half comeback.
“We were only down 2-0 at the half,” said Brizendine, “and I thought we could have made a difference in the second half. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get over the hump.”
The Blue Devils’ offense came alive in the second half, scoring four goals. After two more goals from Finley and one from Cole Grossman, Tech’s Patrick Huang sunk in a score for Tech, preventing the shutout. Huang has now scored in each of the previous two games for Tech and has two goals on the season. Duke’s Tyler McDaniel drove in the last goal in the 84th minute, bringing the score to 6-1, which proved final.
“Duke will make you pay with their firepower up front,” said Brizendine. “I thought that we came out flat.”
Offensively for Tech, Huang, Clarke Bentley and Beto Velazquez each had two shots, with Koen Oost and David Clemens adding one each as well. Four of their eight shots were on goal.
Tech gets a short rest before hosting Radford on Monday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for last Wednesday, Oct. 27 but had to be rescheduled due to extreme wet conditions on the field.