Orange and Hokies Battle In Thursday Night Thriller

Thursday, October 6

Syracuse, N.Y.

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

7-5-2, 0-4-1

Virginia Tech

9-4-1, 1-3-1

Syracuse

Orange and Hokies Battle In Thursday Night Thriller

10/6/2016 10:18:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Although admission to Syracuse women's soccer matches is free, fans got more than their money's worth on Thursday night as the Orange took on Virginia Tech at SU Soccer Stadium. In a thriller that featured huge stops and dramatic goals, the Hokies narrowly came out on top, 2-1.

Virginia Tech took the lead in the 19th minute from a cross into the box to Kristin Diana who fired the ball into the back of the net. The Hokies kept that lead going into halftime.

The Orange didn't let that phase them in the second half. Syracuse came out as the aggressors in the second period, taking 10 shots compared to Virginia Tech's seven. The Orange attack was moving the ball up the field and connecting on passes the way they wanted. In the 71st minute, Maddie Iozzi sent a corner kick sailing into the box that Virginia Tech had to desperately attempt to save. A Hokie defender put her head on the ball to clear, but instead sent the ball past her own goalkeeper into the goal, tying up the game.

In the 83rd minute, Virginia Tech was awarded a penalty kick. Candace Cephers took the shot for the Hokies. She lined up the ball and shot it to her left, but Courtney Brosnan dove and knocked the ball away to keep the game even at 1-1.

Three minutes later, the Hokies took a free kick with the clock ticking down, sending the ball inside of the box to the back of the crowd of players. In the madness, a Syracuse defender knocked the ball into the goal to give Virginia Tech the go-ahead.

Overall, Syracuse had eight shots on goal and several shots that narrowly missed going in by going wide. The Orange backline held Virginia Tech to only seven shots on goal throughout the game. Brosnan posted five saves, including a save in the second half from a shot by a Virginia Tech forward only a few feet away that the keeper batted down and scooped up setting up a Syracuse attack.

While the result was disappointing, the Orange can be encouraged by the flow of the offense in the second half creating 10 shots and the stellar play of Brosnan and the backline. Central defender Jessica Vigna, who has played every minute of the last six matches, made several key clears to keep Virginia Tech from scoring.

The Orange drop to 7-5-2 on the season and 0-4-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. Virginia Tech moves to 9-4-1 and 1-3-1 in conference.

Up next for Syracuse is No. 2 Florida State on Sunday, Oct. 9 at SU Soccer Stadium. The game is tabbed as an "Orange Out" and fans are encouraged to wear Orange to the match.

For complete coverage of Syracuse and Syracuse women's soccer, follow us on Facebook (Syracuse Orange & Syracuse Women's Soccer), Twitter (@Cuse & @CuseWSOC), Instagram (@CuseWSOC).