BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Radford men's soccer program took down New River Valley foe Virginia Tech 3-2 Tuesday night at Thompson Field to finish with a massive win at the end of nonconference play. Tuesday's victory marked the 11th win all-time for men's soccer over the Hokies and the first since 2011.
"These guys have shown the resiliency of a Highlander all season" said Head Coach Chris Barrett. "I'm really proud of how these guys reacted after going down two goals early. We play with a lot of heart and guts tonight and hopefully this will continue our momentum into a huge game this Saturday against Gardner-Webb to keep us going for the Big South conference tournament and conference seating. Again I couldn't be more proud of a team right now."
Radford trailed early in the first half 1-0 after a pass that cut through the Highlander defense led the Hokies' Marco Vesterholm to go one on one with keeper Alex Eydelman. The opportunity led to a shot in the bottom left corner to give the Hokies that early advantage.
Radford tried to respond but couldn't find the answer early on having one shot blocked and another off target. In the 20th minute, Virginia Tech doubled their lead after Eydelman was able to save a shot that lingered in a dangerous area where the Hokies eventually found an opening to secure the 2-0 lead.
However, that would be all Virginia Tech would get in the match. Needing their biggest comeback of the season, Radford responded. The Highlanders were able to strike back with a goal by Owen Clark in the 25th minute where he notched a ball into the bottom left corner of the net that would cut the Hokies lead in half. Jared Dubose would then go on to quickly even the score against the Hokies after he fired off a shot to the bottom left corner that once more found the back of the net and knotted the match at 2-2.
Mateo Perez Nance, who was credited with the assist for Dubose's goal, was able to snag his first goal of the season in the 37th minute after he fired a shot top right corner that would give the Highlanders the 3-2 lead. The Hokies found two opportunities to get the score back level but a block by the Highlander defense with an Eydelman save kept the scoreline right where it was heading into the halftime break.
To open the second half of play, Virginia Tech came out with full force firing two shots on goal in the first three minutes. Eydelman once more preserved the lead with another pair of saves on those shots. After those two early chances, the pace of play slowed as no real opportunities came from either side until twenty minutes later. Virginia Tech once more went on and got off a couple more shots, but the Highlander defense stood strong as they were able to shut down those chances and would ultimately end the match with a 3-2 victory.
KEY STATS
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Alex Eydelman had a total of eight saves, a season high for the Washington, D.C. native.
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Mateo Perez Nance scored his first goal of the season and second of his career.
UP NEXT
The Highlanders are back home at Cupp Stadium as they face Gardner-Webb for senior day and to also resume conference play on Saturday, Oct. 28. That match is set for a 2 p.m. kickoff.
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