Virginia Tech women’s soccer dominates James Madison

After opening the season with two road games against Butler University and Indiana, the Virginia Tech women’s soccer team played their home opener in a non-conference match against James Madison Thursday night.

As they did in their two previous games, the Hokies kept a clean sheet and got a goal in each half in a 3-0 win at Thompson Field in a game they dominated and wore down the Dukes to improve to 2-0-1 on the young season and it was their seventh straight win over James Madison.

Taylor Bryan opened the scoring in the seventh minute when she converted a pass from Sophie Maltese. In the second half, Natalie Mitchell was taken down in the box and awarded a penalty kick. She converted from the spot with a shot inside the left post for a 2-0 lead.

https://twitter.com/HokiesWSoccer/status/1694872669261345150

After defending a James Madison corner in the 78th minute, Anna Weir got behind the Dukes’ defense, and with the keeper out of position, she was able to loft a shot into an open net for a 3-0 lead for her first career goal.

https://twitter.com/HokiesWSoccer/status/1694877001155264669

Virginia Tech carried the majority of the play and took control of the game with a physical attack, which handed the Dukes their first loss after two victories to open the season. The Hokies finished with a 20-7 advantage in shots, 10-4 on net and keeper Alia Skinner recorded her third clean sheet of the young season. Virginia Tech also held a 10-2 advantage on corners, which indicates how much of the play they carried.

Virginia Tech hits the road again on Sunday

The Hokies opened the season with a 3-0 victory over Butler on three second-half goals from Lauren Gogal, Samantha DeGuzman, and Mitchell. They then played to a scoreless draw against Indiana. Virginia Tech made the NCAA Tournament last season and lost their first game 2-0 to West Virginia. They return to the pitch Sunday afternoon with a 1 p.m. game in Washington, D.C. against Georgetown.