Hokies battle Tigers to draw

Tech closes preseason with thrilling exhibition

August 19, 2017

BLACKSBURG- The No. 17 Virginia Tech men’s soccer team drew the fifth-ranked Clemson Tigers 4-4 at Thompson Field on Saturday night. At the conclusion of the 90 minutes, a five-round penalty shootout was contested, with each team converting three.

The Hokies hit the back of the net three times in the first half through three different goal scorers; Collin Verfurth, Camron Lennon and Justus Kauppinen. Verfurth’s headed goal came in the 23^rd minute from an Elias Tamburini corner kick swung into the box. Just two minutes later with his first touch of the game, Camron Lennon doubled the Tech advantage with a one-time finish on a ball played across the six-yard area from Marcelo Acuna.

Before the break, Tech found its third goal from Justus Kauppinen on a counter-attack. The freshman midfielder gained possession inside the Clemson half and took on two defenders, cutting onto his right foot and finishing with a curled shot into the bottom corner.

In the second half, Clemson got back into the game through Harrison Kurtz’s goal assisted by Grayson Raynor in the 54^th minute. After some open play, the Tigers found two goals inside of a minute from Kimarni Smith and Nate Hall to tie the match at three.

After Tech was fouled in a dangerous position, Jon Ingason curled home a fantastic free kick from the edge of the box to regain the Hokies’ goal advantage.

In the closing seconds, Clemson equalized the match at four goals apiece through Saul Chinchilla.

Match Facts
-Clemson outshot the Hokies 20-12
-Tech scored on its only corner kick opportunity
-Ben Lundgaard saved the first two Clemson penalty kicks in the shootout

Next up
Tech travels to Omaha, Nebraska for the first time in program history to kick off the 2017 season against No. 14 Creighton on Friday, Aug. 25 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.

For updates on Virginia Tech men's soccer, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_MSoccer