Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech men’s soccer battled to a 0-0 draw with the Davidson Wildcats at Thompson Field on Tuesday evening.
“I’m happy with tonight’s efforts. We were slow in the first half but we really got on top of them in the second half. We outshot them 10-2 in the second half and we had plenty of opportunities to score,” explained head coach Mike Brizendine. “We were unfortunate not to get one of those in. In overtime, we were fortunate not to get scored on because they hit a pair of shots off of the post.”
Davidson (7-2-4), who came into the match ranked No. 26 in the latest RPI boasting wins over Virginia and Duke, slightly outshot the Hokies (7-6-2) 15-13. Tech held a slight 4-3 advantage in corner kicks.
The first half saw Davidson produce multiple chances. The Wildcats started things off with a pair of shots in the opening minutes. Tech nearly scored in the 8th minute of the match when a Daniel Lauretano free kick found the head of sophomore Alessandro Mion. Mion’s header sneaked just wide of the post to keep the score level at 0-0.
Davidson would rattle off four more shots in the first half while limiting the Hokies to one chance. At the break, freshman goalkeeper Ben Lundgaard was forced to make two saves.
The second half saw the Hokies come out with new life. Tech would outshoot Davidson 10-2 in the second stanza and produced multiple chances on net.
Ricardo John got a pair of chances early in the second half. One chance went wide and Davidson’s goalkeeper stopped the other chance. In the 52nd minute of the match, the Hokies got their best chance after Ricardo John was taken down 20 yards from goal. Lauretano stepped up to take the kick and his powerful shot rattled off the crossbar. Mion picked up the rebound and headed it towards goal, but the Davidson keeper thwarted his attempt.
In the 80th minute, the Hokies had another great scoring opportunity. Niels Kirch found himself alone just right of the goal. Kirch’s shot appeared to be heading into the net, but Davidson’s goalkeeper got his fingers to it and knocked it just wide.
In the two golden-goal overtime periods, Tech nearly saw Davidson earn the win twice as the Wildcats hit the post twice, once in each overtime period. Lundgaard also made two saves in the first overtime period to preserve the shutout. That’s how the game would end as Tech tied their second match of the season.
In all, freshman Ricardo John would finish the match with five total shots while Lundgaard would post four total saves.
“That was a good Davidson side and that was a good result for us. We look forward towards taking the momentum of this game into the Duke match on Friday,” concluded Brizendine.
Tech will close out the regular season in ACC play on Friday, Halloween Night, when the Hokies play host to Duke University at 7 p.m.