RUGG’S GOLDEN GOAL LIFTS NO. 11 BC PAST VIRGINIA TECH
NEWTON, Mass. – Junior Charlie Rugg scored the game-winning goal in the 93rd minute to give the No. 11 men’s soccer team a thrilling 4-3 overtime win against Virginia Tech in front of 905 fans at the Newton Campus Field Friday night.
Virginia Tech scored a pair of second half goals to force the extra period but BC ended it early. In the third minute of overtime, junior Colin Murphy fed classmate Kyle Bekker on the right side of the pitch. Bekker sent a cross into the box and Rugg leapt over everyone to head the ball into the net.
Senior Amit Aburmad and sophomore Chris Ager both recorded a goal and an assist in the match. Both the goal and assist were the first of Ager’s career. Bekker assisted on two goals on the night and freshman Diego Medina-Mendez scored the other goal.
Aburmad had the first scoring chance of the match 7:29 in when he got a shot off deep in the box, but Kyle Renfro came up with the save. The Hokies then took advantage of their first shot in the game as David Clemens sealed off a BC defender to receive a pass. He turned and fired to find the back of the net in the 10th minute to give the Hokies the early lead.
BC went on the offensive after the goal, firing off eight shots the rest of the half to Virginia Tech’s one.
The Eagles tied the game in the 29th minute after a great effort by Aburmad. Fighting for possession with a Virginia tech defender near the end line, he slid and kicked the ball off the Hokie to win the corner. Bekker sent the pass into the box and Ager headed it in off the right post for the equalizer.
BC used the momentum and took the lead 1:53 later. The Eagles earned another corner on the other side of the pitch and Aburmad sent in the feed. After Ager got a touch on the ball in the box, Medina-Mendez put away the ball that was sitting on the goal line to give the Eagles a 2-1 edge.
In the 36th minute of the first half, Medina-Mendez was making a run down the left side of the pitch and was taken down in the box by James Shupp. The official called the foul and awarded BC a penalty kick, which Aburmad put away to make it a 3-1 lead.
The Hokies made it a game once again by scoring less than three minutes after the halftime whistle. Jed Prater was sitting in the top of the box when a ball deflected toward him. He wound up and fired a shot that clipped a BC defender and found the back of the net to pull Virginia Tech within a goal.
The Hokies then tied the game again in the 73rd minute after a ball handling violation inside the box. The free kick was set up a yard inside the box and after a quick touch by Robert Alberti, Ben Strong sent in a nice shot over the wall and into the net for the equalizer.
Junior Justin Luthy was credited with a pair of saves in goal for BC while Renfro stopped five shots for Virginia Tech (3-3-0, 1-1-0 ACC).
BC (5-1-0, 1-1-0) is back in action Tuesday night when it hosts No. 2 Connecticut at 7 p.m. in Newton.
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