'Cats Defeated 4-1 by Virginia Tech in NCAA Second-Round Game

Sunday, November 24

Blacksburg, VA

4 PM

University of New Hampshire

15-2-1

Virginia Tech

10-5-3

New Hampshire

Virginia Tech

Jacob Gould's goal in the 16th minute staked UNH to a 1-0 lead

Photo by: Dave Knachel

'Cats Defeated 4-1 by Virginia Tech in NCAA Second-Round Game

11/24/2019 6:32:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Junior Jacob Gould (Exeter, N.H.) scored his fourth goal of the season in the 16^th minute to stake the 16^th-ranked University of New Hampshire men's soccer team to a 1-0 lead over 23^rd-ranked Virginia Tech, but the Hokies rallied for four unanswered goals to defeat the Wildcats, 4-1, in Sunday afternoon's NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament second-round game at Thompson Field.

After advancing to their third consecutive NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats' season ends with a record of 15-2-3. The 15 wins ties a school record (1994) and the .825 winning percentage is the best in program history.

Virginia Tech, which received two goals from Kristo Strickler, improved to 10-5-3 and advances to the Round of 16 to face the winner of Stanford/Seattle either Nov. 30 or Dec. 1.

GAME INFORMATION:

NCAA Tournament Second Round
Score: Virginia Tech 4, New Hampshire 1
Records: UNH (15-2-3), Virginia Tech (10-5-3)
Location: Blacksburg, Va. (Thompson Field)
Date: Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019
Time: 1:58
Attendance: 420

HOW IT HAPPENED:

First Half
•The fifth minute saw each team exchange scoring opportunities. Junior Linus Fallberg (Jonkoping, Sweden) fielded a pass on the far left side of the 18-yard box, but his shot attempt was blocked by Will Mejia.
•Moments later, Virginia Tech's Daniel Pereira rocketed a blast from 20 yards out that was handled cleanly by UNH graduate student goalkeeper Alejandro Robles (Monterey, Mexico).
•In the ninth minute, graduate student Fabian Lutz (Bad Groenenbach, Germany) streaked down the right side and feathered a lateral pass along the end line that was steered on goal by senior Jack Doherty (Meriden, N.H.), but Mathijs Swaneveld closed the gap on the near post to deny the bid.
•Gould dribbled through traffic directly to the middle of the box in the 11^th minute, only to see his shot defended by Swaneveld.
•The Wildcats struck first in the 16^th minute when Gould settled a ball down just outside the box and blasted a missile just inside the left post for a 1-0 advantage.
•The lead was short-lived, however, as the Hokies netted the equalizer in the 17^th minute when a left-side throw-in from Jacob Labovitz was knocked home by Kristo Strickler for his 10^th goal of the season.
•Virginia Tech nearly seized the lead in the 27^th minute when Daniel Pereira struck the right post with a shot, and Labovitz was in position to drill the rebound, but Robles made a diving save to his left to keep the score knotted at 1-1.
•The Hokies grabbed the lead in the 35^th minute on a free kick from Pereira 30 yards away on the left side the pitch that was headed inside the far right post by Strickler for his second goal of the game and team-leading 11^th of the season.
•Virginia Tech's James Kasak upped the lead to 3-1 in the 38^th minute when he created space 20 yards out on the left side and rocketed a shot that Robles deflected, but not enough to prevent the ball from crossing the line for Kasak's third of the season.
•The Wildcats attempted to get one back in the 39^th minute when senior Brandon Garland (Glastonbury, Conn.) raced in along the left side and ripped a shot that was saved by Swaneveld. A racing freshman Bilal Kamal (London, England) followed up the rebound with a blast that sailed just over the crossbar.
•Robles prevented further damage when he snared a free kick from Jon Ingason from the right side of the box in the 43^rd minute.

Second Half
•UNH went on the attack in the first minute of the second half (46^th minute) when graduate student Kyle Brewster (New Hampton, N.H.) offered at a left-footed attempt from 20 yards away, but it went just wide of the left post.
•Another near miss occurred in the 52^nd minute when Antonio Colacci (Bradenton, Fla.) served up a corner kick from the left side that junior Josh Bauer (Bedford, N.H.) headed just wide.
•Two minutes later, Kamal ripped a right-foot shot that narrowly missed finding the left corner.
•Virginia Tech made it 4-1 in the 73^rd minute when it countered a UNH attack with Labovitz feeding Cameron Lennon for a breakaway goal, his first of the season.
•In the 77^th minute, Colacci's corner kick from the right side perfectly found the head of Bauer, but his offering was denied by Swaneveld.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
•UNH outshot Virginia Tech, 17-14, and shots on goal were even (8-8).
•Each team had six corner kicks.
•Virginia Tech boasted an 11-8 shot advantage in the first half, which included a 7-4 edge in shots on goal.
•Swaneveld was credited with three first half saves, while Robles made four stops.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
•UNH's all-time NCAA Tournament record is 2-4-1.
•The Wildcats permitted only seven goals in their first 19 games before surrendering four to the Hokies.
•UNH closed the season 6-2-2 on the road.
•This marked the first-ever meeting between UNH and Virginia Tech.