RADFORD – Clearly, redshirt sophomore Aldo Macias couldn't hold back.  

After scoring in the 84th minute to give Radford a comfortable 3-1 lead over Virginia Tech, Macias (Dumfries, Va./Edison) ripped his shirt off in a sprint to his teammates on the sideline, an emotional display that came as the Highlanders snapped a six-game scoreless streak and went from valley to peak in their young season.

Plus, they just beat their New River Valley rival.  There were plenty of reasons to celebrate.

Radford scored three unanswered goals in the second half, breaking a school-record goal drought of 594 minutes in the process, for a 3-1 win over Tech on Tuesday night in non-conference men's soccer at Cupp Stadium.

“I can't really explain what I was feeling, it happened so fast,” Macias said.  “I hope we have a lot more feelings like that.”

Macias's goal wasn't decisive, but it gave the Highlanders breathing room in the final minutes, and was part of three-goal outburst that began on freshman James Jordan's (Dartford, England/Dartford Grammar) tally in the 55th.

“Gotta thank James for that one,” Macias said.

“It felt amazing,” Jordan said.  “The emotion was too much, and all I could do was run back to the bench.  Unbelievable.”

Aside from getting the monkey off their backs, the win for the Highlanders (3-5-1) was their first in the series with the Hokies (3-5-2) since Sept. 24, 2002, a 2-0 victory at home for Radford.

Radford, which hadn't scored since a Sept. 11 win over East Tennessee State, broke its drought in convincing fashion with three goals en route to snapping a five-game winless streak.

“It was hard, but once we got that third goal, the weight of everything that's happened this season was lifted,” sophomore goalkeeper Ryan Taylor (Midlothian, Va./Midlothian), who made six saves, said.

“This was a performance that I was very proud of,” head coach Spencer Smith said.  “I thought we fought from the first whistle to the very end.”

The Highlanders had to rally, though.  Tech got on the board first on Emmanuel Akogyeram's goal in the 36th.  Akogyeram cleaned up a loose ball off a deflection, and scored to give the Hokies a 1-0 lead before halftime.

“That first goal was disappointing,” Smith said.  “But I told them at halftime that it was time to stop playing the way we were, and take the game to them.”

They did, as Jordan got the Highlanders on the board for the first time in nearly a month when he drilled a 25-yard shot into the opposite corner of the goal to tie the match at 1-1 in 55th minute.

“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was going in,” Jordan said.

“That was a goal that gave us great confidence,” Smith said.  “It was a great goal, and one we were able to feed off of.”

In the 77th, a loose ball that a Tech defender failed to clear from the goal box was tapped in by junior James Leith (Herndon, Va./Oakton) for the game winner, giving Radford a 2-1 lead.  The goal was credited to Leith, post-game.

“James's goal was very fortunate for us,” Smith said.  “But that's what we've been preaching: we've got to get guys into the box, and that's how you score goals.”

In a match where the Highlanders outshot the Hokies 19-15, including a second half tally of 13-9 in favor of Radford, Taylor was forced to make six saves, including four after the Highlanders netted the equalizer in the 55th.

“I knew after we scored that first goal, we were going to win,” Taylor said.  “Myles [Jones], Brendan [Shaffer] and Daryn [Patricio] just made plays in front of me.  Just great stuff going on back there.“

To continue the “great stuff,” Smith points to this game as a builder the rest of the way.

“We have to take not just the win, but our performance from this.  That's how you win games, and that's what we did: we performed hard for 90 minutes.”

The Highlanders return to Big South play this Saturday, hosting UNC Asheville at 7 p.m.