No. 17/20 Tech Earns Season-Opening Victory

August 23, 2016

BLACKSBURG, Va. (August 19, 2016) – A first half goal from All-American Murielle Tiernan fueled the No. 17/20 Virginia Tech women’s soccer team to a 1-0 win over LSU on Friday evening at Patriots Point, in Charleston, South Carolina.

A two-hour rain delay did not stop the Hokies offense from firing on all cylinders, as Tech (1-0) used back-to-back corner kicks in the 13th minute to secure its lone goal of the night. Tiernan, a 2016 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy candidate, got the Hokies on the board in the 14th minute, pouncing on a corner kick inside the box from sophomore Anissa Dadkhah.

The Hokies’ solid backline ensured that Tech would walk away with a victory, allowing LSU (0-1) only one shot on-goal all evening. Freshman goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn, a native of Jacksonville, Florida, earned credit for the clean sheet in her first career start as a Hokie.

The Tigers forged their best chance of the match in the final seconds of the first half when Debbie Hahn stepped up to take a free kick about 35 yards in front of the goal. Jordane Carvery headed Hahn’s shot toward the net, but McGlynn snatched the ball out of the air before it breached the top-right corner of her goal.

LSU’s goalkeeper Caroline Brockmeier finished with eight saves in the loss. VT earned a 17-1 advantage in shots and a 7-1 edge in corner kicks. Junior Madi Conyers led all with four shots on the night, followed by Tiernan with three.

HEAD COACH CHUGGER ADAIR QUOTES

“I was pleased with our efforts tonight. We were delayed two hours due to weather, and the girls did a good job with their focus. We controlled the tempo of the game early on, and I was very happy with the way we played on our first game out. If you look at the stats, we led 17-1 in shots, and we played very well defensively to get the win.”

“I was very happy with how they (freshmen) played tonight, and they had plenty of opportunities to groom and develop with the team throughout the course of the game. Overall, I thought the group played well together, especially toward the final minutes to secure a win over a very good LSU team.”

“We play another SEC team on Sunday in Mississippi State, and I look forward to watching us perform against another good team.”

NOTES

Eighteen players participated for the Hokies tonight, with six of 10 freshmen marking their first appearance as a Hokie … Freshman Bridget Patch tallied 18 minutes on the night, notching one shot on-goal, while teammate Jordan Hemmen recorded two shots in just 25 minutes … Redshirt freshman Kelsey Irwin also earned her first career start, competing a total of 90 minutes … With tonight’s goal, Tiernan marked her 40th career goal as a Hokie … With the victory, Tech now holds a 2-0 all-time series advantage over LSU.

NEXT UP

The Hokies close out play at the College of Charleston Tournament on Sunday, Aug. 21, against Mississippi State, with first kick set for 11 a.m. The match will not be streamed online, but links for live scores can be found HERE.

FOLLOW ALONG

Fans can follow all the action during each match of the 2016 season by following the 2016 squad on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.