Tech travels to Harrisonburg for two matches

Hokies to face Pacific, Binghamton in JMU Invitational

August 31, 2017

BLACKSBURG- The Virginia Tech men’s soccer team is preparing for two matches this weekend at a neutral site, Sentara Park on the campus of JMU. This is the sixth time in program history the Hokies have competed in this event hosted by the Dukes.

On Friday, Sept. 1 the Hokies will meet the Pacific Tigers of the West Coast Conference for the first time. Kickoff has been moved up to 2:30 p.m. due to weather concerns.

In 2016, the Tigers earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, advancing to the second round before falling to eventual national champion Stanford.

In 2017, the Tigers are 2-0 after victories against Sacramento State (2-0) and CSU Bakersfield (5-2). Forward Tristan Blackmon is leading the line with two goals, while four other Tigers have found the back of the net once.

Sunday the Hokies will turn their attention towards the Binghamton Bearcats. In the teams’ only meeting in this event in 2013, the Hokies won a 1-0 game through Alessandro Mion’s goal in the eighth minute.

Binghamton enters the weekend 2-0, after defeating George Washington 4-0 and Colgate University 2-1. Noah Luescher leads five Bearcat goal scorers with two. On Friday, they will take on JMU following Tech’s match with Pacific.

Tech opened its season with two games in Omaha, Nebraska this past weekend. The Hokies defeated No. 14 Creighton 2-0 behind headed goals from Collin Verfurth and James Kasak. The Hokies fell to the Omaha Mavericks on Sunday before returning home.

Ben Lundgaard earned his first shutout of the season against the Bluejays and MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List member Marcelo Acuna got on the score sheet with his first goal of 2017 with a headed effort against Omaha.

Next up
After the weekend, the Hokies begin ACC play on Friday, Sept. 8 in Durham, N.C. against the Duke Blue Devils.

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