Virginia Tech women’s soccer earns big 2-1 win over No. 12 West Virginia

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Via Virginia Tech) – Virginia Tech scored two, second half goals and defeated West Virginia, 2-1, to take the title in the Hoosier Classic on Sunday afternoon at Armstrong Stadium on the campus of Indiana University.

The Hokies, ranked 13th in the NSCAA preseason poll, are now 2-0 on the season, while West Virginia, ranked 12th in the NSCAA preseason poll, is 1-1 on the year.

“Today’s game was really a tale of two halves,” head coach Chugger Adair said. “We weren’t ready for the match in the first few minutes and really hung on to get to the halftime. In the second half, it was just the opposite. We really played well.”

Tech got off to a slow start, allowing nine WVU shots on goal in the first 14 minutes of action, but fought off the Mountaineer attack and went into the intermission in a scoreless tie.

The match remained scoreless through the first several minutes of the second half. Tech got on the board in the 54th minute of action on a goal by Murielle Tiernan, who scored from 15 yards out in the center off a pass from Ashley Meier. WVU then knotted the score at 1-1 in the 57th minute on a goal from Kailey Utley, off a blocked shot, into the left corner.

Tech scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 62nd minute, on a goal from Candace Cephers. Both teams had chances the rest of the contest, but the final remained 2-1, Hokies. Tech attempted seven of its nine shots after intermission.

“I’m really proud of the girls, the way they recovered from perhaps our worst half in a number of years,” Adair added. “They really grinded it out and got the win. WVU had a lot of shots in the first eight minutes, but not all of them were really dangerous. “

Hokie goalie, Kaylyn Smith, recorded eight saves on the afternoon, including three saves in the first half. She improves her season record to 2-0. WVU outshot the Hokies, 22-9 including a 12-2 advantage in the first half. Corner kicks were even at three apiece.

“It was really a street battle out there for both teams and I think we played fairly well.” Adair concluded. “I think we were a lot cleaner today than the other night. It’s good to play two tough teams on the road this early in the season. I think this will help us build confidence.”