BLACKSBURG, Va. – When Virginia Tech recorded its first shot of the match 75 minutes into Friday night’s Terrapin men’s soccer game, the orange-clad Hokie supporters still in attendance let out a sarcastic cheer.
The No. 10 Terps were so dominant defensively in their 4-0 win that it was hard to imagine the same team had given up five goals, including three in a 1:23 span, in a loss at Clemson just a week prior.
But the Terps (9-3, 3-2 ACC) looked like a different team Friday, thanks to a long examination of what went wrong against the Tigers on Oct. 3.
“This week was actually a turning point for us,” defender Omar Gonzalez said. “We had a long talk with the team and a good heart to heart with the whole team. We decided that was the last time we were gonna play like that.”
Coach Sasho Cirovski and Gonzalez urged the backline to refocus on defending first and attacking second.
There were situations where Clemson caught the Terps off guard and outmanned on counter attacks the week before, but the Hokies found no such luxuries Friday night. When the Virginia Tech attackers had possession, Terp defenders and midfielders got back and pressured the ball, forcing errant passes.
“To hold a team shotless for 75 minutes is remarkable,” Cirovski said. “We were more honest, our positioning was better, we never let our guard down and we played out every play.”
The results were a 24-3 advantage in shots and 15-3 advantage in corner kicks, stats that accurately show how the Terps controlled the game.
The Terps’ offensive pressure, which was constant throughout, helped make the job of freshman goalkeeper Zac MacMath easy. MacMath made two saves in his first ACC start. Sophomore Will Swaim had started the team’s first four conference games.
Although they had yet to score at halftime, the Terps had a number of close opportunities.
One free kick from midfielder Matt Kassel was headed off of the crossbar about 15 minutes into the game. Defender Rodney Wallace and midfielder Drew Yates both shot balls just wide of the net later in the half.
“We were very comfortable with getting chances,” Cirovski said. “We were just a little impatient with some of our opportunities. There was no need to rush, and we talked at halftime about being more patient and showing more poise with our decisions.”
In the 53rd minute, the Terps broke through when midfielder Jeremy Hall headed in a cross from forward Casey Townsend. Less than three minutes later, Hall struck again, this time on a header from a Kassel cross, his seventh goal of the season and fifth in the last three games.
With the game well in hand, forward Jason Herrick added a goal in the 80th minute followed by a 90th-minute strike from seldom-used forward Billy Cortes, who came in off the bench for his first goal of the season.
After the game, the players were talkative and upbeat, a sharp contrast from the Clemson loss. While the improvement on the field Friday started with the defense, Gonzalez said the players-only huddle after Clemson and a week of reflection were crucial to the rest of the season.
“That was the most important thing – getting our team back together,” Gonzalez said. “We talked about how we need to be closer off the field so we can be better on it, and we showed a lot of it today. We showed a lot of heart, and we wanted to play for each other.”
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