Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech men's soccer team will welcome the Mountaineers of West Virginia to Thompson Field at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night.
Virginia Tech is coming off a hard-fought 2-0 loss at No. 5 Clemson on Friday night. The Hokies defense and midfield prevented the Tigers from putting many chances on frame, Clemson only holding a slight edge in shots on goal at 6-4.
Offensively, the Hokies rank 15th in the nation shots on goal per game at 7.0 a contest. The team is also 50th in scoring offense (1.78) and 60th in the nation in shots per game at 13.56. Merlin Baus ranks T-25th in the country in points per game at 1.5. Ricardo John is T-25th in the nation in shots on goal per game at 1.78.
The Hokies currently are ranked 53 in the NCAA RPI Rankings. The ACC has all 12 teams in the top-58 in RPI and no teams with an overall winning percentage below .500.
The game may come down to whoever has a halftime lead as the two teams are both tough to beat when holding a lead at the break. Virginia Tech head coach Mike Brizendine is 17-5-1 when leading at the half while WVU’s Marlon LeBlanc is 46-4-4.
Opponent History...
The two teams have met 10 times dating all the way back to 1987. West Virginia currently holds a 7-3 advantage over the Hokies including a 3-0 win in Morgantown, W. Va. last September.
Prior to that meeting, the two teams and former Big East Conference rivals hadn’t met since 2004 and have only met four times in the last 21 years. WVU plays its men’s soccer in the Mid-American Conference as the Big 12 doesn’t sponsor men’s soccer.
About West Virginia...
The Mountaineers are coming off a 3-2 victory over St. Francis (PA) and have won two straight games, including a 1-0 win over UNC-Greensboro, a team Tech faced earlier this season.
On the season, West Virginia is 1-3 playing away from home. The Mountaineers are fifth nationally in total assists (23) and seventh in assists per game at 2.56. They also rank 16th in the country in scoring offense with 2.11 goals per game.
West Virginia is led by Ryan Cain and sophomore Joey Piatczyc. Cain leads the team with five goals and 10 points while Piatcyzc leads the country with 10 total assists in eight games. Jame Merriam was an All-MAC First Team selection last season and has three goals and two assists so far this season. The team as a whole returned nine starters.
The Mountaineers have started two different goalkeepers this season in Alec Boerner and Daniel Diaz. Diaz is 2-4 on the year while Boerner is 2-1.
The game will kickoff at 7 p.m. and will be nationally televised on ESPN3.