BOX SCORE

BLACKBURG, Va. – Camden Brown's (Knoxville, Tenn. / Karns) fourth goal of the season wasn't enough as Radford fell to New River rival Virginia Tech 4-1 in non-conference men's soccer action Monday evening at Thompson Field.

“This was a tough night for our team as some big moments and decisions didn't go our way early in the game,” said Radford head coach Marc Reeves.

Despite dropping the 34th meeting all-time, the Highlanders held the advantage in shots, 14-12, and corner kicks, 8-7.

Brown netted a 63rd minute strike from the edge of the 18-yard box to beat a diving James Daly to the lower right net to give Radford (6-6-3) its only goal of the match. Luis Grande (Caracas, Venezuela / U.E. Colegio Los Arcos) set up the strike with a through ball at the top of the box.

“We showed good character to battle back into the game, but some good strikes from distance by very good players were the deciding factor tonight.”

Clarke Bentley tacked on his second goal of the night, when he buried a shot from over 30 yards away, to make the score, 4-1, in the 79th minute.

Radford had a promising chance to cut into the deficit at 49:15 when a left-footed shot from Mike Handlin (Opal, Va. / Liberty-Bealeton) hit the far-side post.

Though the Highlanders held an 8-3 margin in shots, Virginia Tech took a 2-0 advantage into the half.

The Hokies jumped ahead 3:52 into the match when Bentley bent a shot from about 25 yards out on the nearside and converted just inside the upper left 90.

The Highlanders nearly answered back 2:38 later when Iyiola Awosika (London, England / Aylesbury Grammar) collected a ball in the box off a header cross, but his strike hit the crossbar.

In the 14th minute, Bernardo Ulmo (Sao Paulo, Brazil / South Kent) blasted a shot from 10-yards out off a Handlin set piece, but his attempt sailed just high of the goal.

Virginia Tech (5-11-1) put its second goal on the board in the 23rd minute off a long throw-in from Patrick Huang. The ball slipped through the Radford defense and found an awaiting Albert Alwang, who connected on his shot from the edge of the six-yard box.

The Hokies other score came from Robert Alberti with just over 15 minutes left.

Aldo Macias (Dumfries, Va. / Edison) had another chance to put Radford on the scoreboard right before halftime, but his strike off a short corner sailed high of the net.

“We now have to turn around very quickly and be ready to play two tough important games,” Reeves said.

The Highlanders continue their three-game road swing to conclude the 2010 regular season at Elon tomorrow evening at 7 p.m.