Hokies fall just short with No. 4 Tar Heels, 1-0, on Senior Night
Four Hokie seniors were honored before the match
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Hokies fell just short to the No. 4 Tar Heels on Senior Night, 1-0, as the four Hokie seniors: Alexander Baden, Stefan Caulfield, Brendan Dunn and James Gilson, were accompanied by their parents and honored before the match. With 1,853 Hokie supporters on hand, the best crowd of the season and eighth-best all-time for a men’s soccer game, Tech never quit attacking all game but just couldn’t find the back of the net.
In a very close first half, the ball was evenly possessed, though the Tar Heels (10-2-2, 4-2-1 ACC) finished the first 45 minutes with the slight edge, outshooting the Hokies (4-9-2, 2-4-0 ACC) 6-5. Tech continuously attacked North Carolina’s end of the field, while the Hokie defense, led by Baden, was also strong. Tech only allowed the Tar Heels to take three shots on target with Caulfield saving all three attempts.
North Carolina got things going right away in the second half, as Jordan Graye netted his first goal of the season and the only goal of the game three minutes into the second period. Cameron Brown earned an assist on the play, as he got the ball to Graye, who then took a few dribbles towards the goal and buried the ball into the right side of the net from just in front of the goalie’s box on the left side of the field.
The two teams battled through the rest of the evenly matched half, as neither team was able to generate any more offense. The Tar Heels finished the game outshooting the Hokies 15-9, tallying five more shots on goal than Tech.
The Hokies will return to action as they play their final game of the season at Thompson Field on Tuesday, hosting Longwood at 7 p.m.
For updates on Virginia Tech men's soccer, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_MSoccer).