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CINCINNATI, OHIO - The Virginia Tech men’s soccer team passed their first road test of the season with flying colors, knocking off the Cincinnati Bearcats 5-1 on Thursday night.
The Hokies (1-1) pounced on the Bearcats (2-1) early thanks in large part to Merlin Baus who recorded a goal and two assists in the game. Four other Tech players netted their first goals of the season in the win.
It only took Tech just over a minute to get the first goal on the board off a corner kick. Though Cincinnati responded a few minutes later with a goal of their own, Tech got two more goals before halftime put the game away early.
Merlin Baus whipped in a corner kick that was finished by senior Daniel Lauretano into the right corner just 1:33 into the game. Cincinnati’s Adam Wilson had an unassisted goal six minutes later that tied it up. The Hokies were resilient and took the lead for good as Ricardo John netted his first goal of the season. Ousmane Sanogo played him through on a breakaway to make it 2-1.
It would be 3-1 before the halftime break as Baus lined up to convert a penalty kick in the 29th minute. After the break, the Hokies got another goal off a Baus corner this time with Dylan Huber getting on the end of it to make it 4-1.
The scoring finally came to a close as Reece Alexander caused a turnover at the top of the Cincinnati box and drilled it into the top-right corner of the net. Tech would be in cruise control for the remainder of the contest as they handed Cincinnati their first lost of the season.
The Hokies outshot Cincinnati 15-8, holding a decisive edge in shots on goal with the margin favoring the away team 10-2. The Tech defense held stout as Ben Lundguaard went the full 90 minutes, making one save. Cincinnati had seven corners to Virginia Tech’s six.
It was the first time the Hokies had scored five goals in a match since a game against VMI on Sept. 30 of last season. The Hokies improved their record all-time against the Bearcats to 9-3.
The Hokies have a quick turnaround as they stay in Cincinnati to face last year’s NCAA Third Round team Xavier on Saturday at 7 p.m.
For updates on Virginia Tech men's soccer, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_MSoccer
