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GAME NOTES- Ohio State

GAME NOTES- Oakland

BLACKSBURG- The Virginia Tech men’s soccer team opens up a challenging 2016 slate as they travel to Columbus to play No. 18 The Ohio State University and Oakland University in the Wolstein Classic.

The Hokies will face the Buckeyes on Friday at 7 p.m. and the Golden Grizzlies on Sunday at 4 p.m. at Jesse Owens Stadium.

Virginia Tech had a successful preseason defeating East Tennessee State and James Madison in exhibition matches. The Hokies will enter the weekend with momentum after winning 3-1 and 2-1, respectively. Tech hosted ETSU on Aug. 16 with Som Essome, Forrest White and Nico Quashie posting goals. JMU then hosted on Aug.20 where Elias Tamburini and Marcelo Acuna led Tech to victory. Ben Lundgaard and Charles Filby spilt time between the posts, tallying eight saves.

Head Coach Mike Brizendine and his team enter the season after posting a 5-9-3 overall record in 2015. The Hokies return twelve upperclassmen and add eleven newcomers to the roster.

About Ohio State

The Buckeyes did not fair well in exhibition play, going 0-2 against Butler and Syracuse. Both teams topped OSU 2-1.

Ohio State enters the 2016 season after posting an overall record of 13-7-3. The Buckeyes advance to the Sweet 16 round of the College Cup last December before losing to Stanford 3-1. Stanford went on to win the College Cup.

OSU will return seven starters, including four of their top scorers while adding nine new faces to the team. Head Coach John Bluem will enter his 20th year at the helm.

The Last Meeting

These two squads have only meet once. In 2004, the Hokies and Buckeyes battled it out in State College, Pa. at the Penn State Nike Classic. Ohio State came out on top winning 4-2. This will be the first time the teams will be meeting not on neutral grass.

About Oakland

The Golden Grizzlies spilt their exhibition games 1-2, losing to Bowling Green and Indiana away and defeating No. 2 Akron at home. Oakland shutout Akron winning 1-0. Austin Ricci scored the sole goal for the upset win. Ricci led the team in goals, shots, points and shots on goal in 2015.

Oakland, the two-time defending Horizon League champion, was picked to finish first in the league in the 2016 preseason poll. They finished the 2015 season 10-8-2, 5-3-1. The Grizzlies return three seniors while adding 13 newcomers to the roster. This relatively young team Is led by head coach Eric Poque. This will be the first meeting for Tech and Oakland.

For updates on Virginia Tech men's soccer, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_MSoccer