Charlottesville, VA — Virginia Tech dominated 2-1 vs UVA in another Commonwealth Clash victory for the Hokies.
Early on, the game was all Hokies.
Alvaro Ruiz-Mateos scored the opening goal in just the 11th minute of this in-state clash after Jaden Chan Tack played in a beautiful pass to Senior Midfielder Yanis Belatrache, with Ruiz-Mateos scoring 1-0 off Belatache’s cross.
Only twelve minutes later Virginia Tech dealt another hit to make it 2-0 against the Cavaliers.
This time the goal came courtesy of Luke Hamel, as the Freshman put in a breathtaking curled shot from the far left wing of the box into the top right corner, giving the Hokies an early 2-0 lead, just 23 minutes into the game.
After some uneventful opportunities throughout the first half the Hokies held the lead 2-0 at halftime, with the next real opportunity being from the penalty spot.
Sophomore Hokie goalscorer Alvaro Ruiz-Mateos fouled UVA’s Marco Dos Santos who then took a penalty shot and scored, cutting the Virginia Tech lead and half and bringing Virginia back in striking distance.
With just 11 minutes to play, though, Virginia would have to come up with another late-match goal to tie the game, but the Hokies held on to survive with a 2-1 win, though Virginia had four shots-on-goal after the penalty.
After scraping away that win away the Hokies will return home to Thompson Field to face off against another in-state foe in Longwood University on Tuesday, October 6th, 6PM EST.
