MEN'S SOCCER DROPS FIRST MATCH IN A MONTH, FALLS 1-0 AT VIRGINIA TECH

BOX SCORE BLACKSBURG, Va. – Radford's frustration in trying to defeat Virginia Tech in Blacksburg continued on Tuesday as the Highlanders dominated play, but left Thompson Field with a 1-0 loss. RU has not won at Tech since 2000.

The statistics reflect the controlling play by the Highlanders. Radford (8-3-4) outshot the Hokies 20-10 overall and 9-5 in shots on goal. It was Virginia Tech (6-7-3), however, that capitalized on its only real scoring chance of the game. Kai Marshall's header off a serve into the box by Jed Prater cleared the head of RU keeper Ryan Taylor and found the net. The goal came in the 60th minute.

Radford head coach Marc Reeves was proud of his team's effort. “We played some great soccer and had a majority of the possession. We had numerous chances to score, but came up against an informed goal keeper, and we were not as clinical as we needed to be.”

Even down 1-0, Radford kept the pressure on the Hokies, but goalkeeper Kyle Renfro turned away each RU threat. Renfro tied a career high with nine saves, including three superb denials after the hosts had gained the lead. The Highlanders had several high quality chances to tie the score.

Jamie Summers snuck up from his defense position with just over 10 minutes to play and let go a laser from the top of the penalty box that found Renfro's hands. Less than two minutes later, Jannik Eckenrode beat Renfro with a touch only to see the ball trickle wide of the goal.

Bernardo Ulmo and Chel Ho Park Kim tallied three and two shots on goal apiece, respectively, but at the end of the night, Renfro was clean in goal, and the Hokies escaped with the win.

Radford controlled the pace in the first half as well, but never found the back of the net. Ulmo's back-to-back shots on frame in the 11th minute proved to be the best opportunities, but Renfro was up to the task on each effort. Dario Redondo's hard ground ball shot stretched Renfro to the ground to keep the game scoreless late in the half.

Taylor faced only one relatively harmless shot on goal in the first 45 minutes as RU outshot Tech 8-5 overall and 5-1 on goal.

The Highlanders do not have much time to reflect on their first loss in over a month. Nationally-ranked Coastal Carolina visits Cupp Stadium on Saturday for a 2 p.m. kickoff. The loss is RU's first in nine games since a 1-0 overtime defeat at Marshall on Sept. 16.

“It is a tough loss to take, but we need to bounce back quickly,” Reeves said. “Coastal is an in-conference and unbelievably talented opponent.”

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