1 | 2 | F | |
---|---|---|---|
(6) Virginia Tech (13-1-2) | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Pitt (4-11-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Junior midfielder Katie Yensen scored a pair of goals in the first half to lead the Virginia Tech women’s soccer team on Sunday afternoon, as the Hokies blasted Pittsburgh 4-0 to earn their fourth consecutive win.
“We had a professional mentality about this match and I was very happy with that,” Head Coach Chugger Adair said. “This was an important win for us; to go on the road and get this kind of result is very good for us.”
Tech entered Sunday fresh off a three-match homestand, but brought a 4-0-1 record away from home into the matchup with the Panthers.
The Hokies, facing Pittsburgh for the first time since a 2002 contest between the two teams, did not waste much time in seizing control of the match.
After Tech tallied a pair of shots in the opening seven minutes, Yensen opened the scoring in the 15th. Senior Taylor Antolino started the play with a pass to junior Kelsey Loupee, who sent a cross into the area. Yensen found herself on the end of it and buried the chance to put Tech up 1-0.
Just four minutes later, Loupee picked up her second assist of the day on a cross. Freshman Murielle Tiernan was on the receiving side of this one, heading it home to double the Hokies’ advantage before the 20-minute mark.
The goal was Tiernan’s second in as many matches and her seventh of the year, tied for the most on the team. Loupee’s assists give her six on the year to pace the Hokies.
In the 27th minute, Yensen found the back of the net for the second time, burying a cross from senior Jazmine Reeves this time. The pair of goals gives Yensen five on the season and gave the junior her first-ever multi-goal match. Reeves now has five assists this year and 19 as a Hokie, the third-most in Virginia Tech history.
No further damage would be done in the first half and the Hokies entered the break having racked up 11 shots, while not yielding a single attempt to Pittsburgh. With Tech holding a 3-0 lead, senior goalkeeper Dayle Colpitts exited the match at halftime without having to make a single save.
Shortly after halftime, senior Ashley Manning added the final goal for the Hokies. After a small scrum in the box, senior Katie DeTuro poked a pass to Manning that the senior was able to bury to put Tech up 4-0 in the 56th minute.
Although the Hokies did not add another goal before the end of the match, the statistics bore evidence of Tech’s domination. Besides outshooting the Panthers 18-3 on the day, the Hokies tallied six corner kicks to Pittsburgh’s one.
“I’m very proud of how we played today,” Adair said. “We were able to get a few good, early goals and spread around the minutes a little bit. This is a good results for us moving forward.”
While Tech forced five saves out of Panther goalkeeper Taylor Francis, second-half Tech goalkeeper Caroline Kelly only needed a pair of saves to maintain the shutout.
Reeves, along with juniors Shannon Mayrose and Ellie Zoepfl, paced the Hokie offense on the day, as each racked up three shots. In all, nine Tech players picked up at least one shot on the day, eight of whom put a shot on target.
With the win, the Hokies move to 13-1-2 on the year, including an 8-1-1 mark in the ACC. The victory clinches a spot in the ACC Tournament for Tech and extends the Hokies’ unbeaten streak to nine matches, tied for the longest in school history.
Pittsburgh falls to 4-11-1 in 2013, with an 0-10-0 conference record in their first ACC season.
Tech is now 5-0-1 away from Blacksburg this season and has only given up three goals in its nine-match unbeaten streak. This was the fourth match this year in which the Hokies scored at least four goals, led by a seven-goal performance in the season-opener against High Point.
Tech will be back in action on Thursday, October 24, when it plays host to No. 3 Florida State at Thompson Field. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m.
For updates on Virginia Tech women's soccer, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_WSoccer).