The Rundown: Virginia Tech Men's Soccer Off To Perfect ACC Start After 2-0 Win At Syracuse
Syracuse N.Y- For the first time this season, the Hokies did not score in the first half. In fact, neither the Orange nor Tech could make a mark in Friday night's scrappy proceedings.
However, soccer is a game of moments, and when those moments arrived, Mike Brizendine's squad took full advantage.
Freshman Alex Perez was awarded a free kick 60 minutes into the match. With the ball placed just outside the Syracuse box and goalkeeper Tomas Hut firmly positioned in the middle of the goal, opportunity number one presented itself.
With Hut and Syracuse positioned centrally, Perez chose his spot. The Las Vegas native calmly took the shot with his left foot, sending the ball into the net and leaving Hut scrambling to his left.
Just over a minute later, after Hokie keeper Cooper Wenzel snuffed out an Orange chance, the California State University, Northridge transfer sent a ball down the pitch to Marcos Escoe. Escoe, noticing he and Malick Thiaw had a 2-on-3 break, created moment number two.
Escoe maneuvered into a one-on-one position, allowing Thiaw to be left wide open inside the penalty box. Thiaw rocketed the ball off his first touch into the upper netting, leaving Hut with no chance to make a save.
As expected, when down 2-0, the former national champions pushed forward in search of a chance to cut the Hokies’ lead in half.
Despite an exceptional goal-line clearance by Yonis Kireh, which saved a certain goal, the Orange could not challenge Wenzel, and the Hokies held on to their 2-0 lead.
When the final whistle blew, a wave of palpable relief washed over the Hokies as their undefeated start continued into ACC play, even though they played below their expectations.
Next up for Virginia Tech is a trip northeast to face SMU, which will provide another benchmark for the fast-rising Hokies.
