Mistakes Haunt Virginia Tech Men’s Soccer In UVa Loss

Virginia Tech men’s soccer gave up a goal in the third minute against No. 18 Virginia on Friday, and things only got worse in the 3-0 defeat.

The Cavaliers (8-3-3, 4-2-1 ACC) completely overmatched the Hokies (4-6-4, 2-4-1 ACC) behind freshman forward Stephen Annor’s two goals.

Just over two minutes into the match, Hokies center back Grant Howard received a pass outside of his own 18-yard box. Annor tangled Howard up, taking the ball from him and putting the ball on target, just out of reach of leaping goalkeeper Timi Adams. Just 130 seconds into the match, Virginia had a lead.

🚦 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲. 𝐒𝐞𝐭. 𝐆𝐨.

🔶⚔️🔷#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/PwytGsZpWE

— Virginia Men's Soccer (@UVAMenSoccer) October 20, 2023

“[Grant] is usually really good in those positions,” Adams told Tech Sideline after the loss. “He tried to dribble out. I’m high [in the 18-yard box], I’m trying to support him, I’m there and they stole the ball from him. I’m too high off my line so they just had to chip me.”

Annor’s second strike came in the 58th minute off a William Cardona turnover. He picked up the ball at midfield and dribbled past Howard, Tech’s last defender, setting up a one-on-one with Adams. He casually slotted it home, compounding the Hokies’ issues.

C🥶🥶L as you like it!

🔶⚔️🔷#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/HWeuANhGeS

— Virginia Men's Soccer (@UVAMenSoccer) October 20, 2023

 “On each goal, you can literally see an individual error,” Adams said. “… It was just straight mistakes from us.”

Friday marked Annor’s second brace in his short career, scoring his ninth and 10th goals of the season.

“I think [Annor] had a good defensive line behind him, and again, no mistakes were made,” Adams said. “It’s easy to have a good game when you don’t have mistakes.”

Sandwiched in between Annor’s strikes was Virginia’s second goal in the 22nd minute, which came from forward Daniel Mangarov. Hokies midfielder Mario Vesterholm received a yellow card just outside of the box and Mangarov drilled the subsequent through the wall, past a diving Adams.

22' 𝙂𝙊𝘼𝙇𝙇𝙇𝙇𝙇𝙇𝙇

🤑 Mangarov on the 𝙈𝙊𝙉𝙀𝙔

🔶⚔️🔷#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/mOvreFjlSV

— Virginia Men's Soccer (@UVAMenSoccer) October 20, 2023

“I think that we gave away the ball in terrible spots and they penalized us on it,” Virginia Tech head coach Mike Brizendine said. “I have never seen a collection of poor goals given up, and it’s frustrating because in every other facet of the game I thought we were excellent.”

Each of Virginia’s goals came immediately after individual errors. If the Hokies hadn’t made those mistakes, they could have left Thompson Field on Friday with a different result.

“It happens to the best of people, so we just have to take it on the chin and move on,” Adams said.

Although Adams surrendered three goals — tying his season-high — his six saves are the most of his career. Virginia’s nine shots on goal were also the most he has faced in his career.

“It’s a blessing to be out here, so win, lose or draw, each game I’m just going to put my best foot forward,” Adams said. “… I’m just going to try my hardest each and every game, regardless of the scoreline.”

Tech’s roster consists of seven freshmen and 10 sophomores, and many of the upperclassmen hadn’t seen the pitch before this season. Although 2023 has been full of growing pains, Brizendine hopes their struggles will be beneficial in the long run.

“It is my encouragement as I look to the future, knowing that we bring a lot of these guys back and I have asked a lot of them, as young players,” Brizendine said. “I think that we are probably about three players away from being where I want us to be.”

The Hokies have two games left in the regular season: a home game against Radford on Tuesday and at Duke on Friday. Next weekend, they turn their attention to the ACC Tournament. Brizendine hopes to see the team stay strong mentally over the final few games of the year.

“Coming off of this loss, are we mentally tough enough to attack that game? Our frustrations, can we take them out on Radford? … In our next game, will we have a good attitude or are we mentally defeated through that?

“That’ll be the interesting thing. I’ll have a better feel for that tomorrow.”

Box Score: No. 18 Virginia 3, Virginia Tech 0