Collegiate Times

Freshman Carly Sullivan battles a Wake Forest player during the Hokie Classic this weekend. Sullivan led the team in scoring with three goals.

The Virginia Tech women's club soccer team dominated all four of its games this past weekend in its host event, the Hokie Classic. The home team out-shot its opponents by a 15-1 ratio, took more corner kicks, and most importantly, held possession for 95 percent of every game. One problem with soccer though: Domination doesn't necessarily equal victories.

Click here for photos from the tournament.

The Hokies were reminded of this the hard way as they fell one step short of the tournament finals with a 2-1 loss to the Maryland Terrapins. This followed preliminary round victories over Elon (4-0), Wake Forest (2-1) and East Carolina (1-0).

"That is what makes soccer the greatest sport on earth, " said head coach Lee Boehling  immediately following his team's elimination. "Literally, out of 80 minutes, we dominated them for 78, and you lose 2-1. It's happened to me before, but that's why you play."

While possession and shots are important, finding the back of the net and finishing is even more important, and given the shots on target and possession advantage, Tech struggled to score as often as they could have.

The Hokies won their first game decisively over Elon, 4-0, thanks to two late goals by freshmen Allison Miller and Carly Sullivan, but the score line could have been a lot worse for the visiting Elon Phoenix.  

"I think this is a group that when they need to finish, they finish," Boehling said afterward. "I think that when the game maybe isn't on the line, they take their foot off the accelerator a little bit inside the box. This probably isn't the best habit to have, but at the same time, they were able to hold possession of the ball. And when they did attack, I thought they looked dangerous about it."

Linking separate halves from the next two games showed that Tech could play at an even higher level.

The Hokies out-shot the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 10-1 in the first half of their next match and finally got on the scoreboard five minutes before halftime, when Sullivan put in the rebound off of a free kick that just struck the outside post. Sullivan picked up her first goals of the season this weekend, and in the process, led the team in scoring.

"I think as a freshman, these goals are even more special, " Sullivan said. "Being able to make an impact with the team so early on will help me as the season goes on."

"We came out (versus Wake) and we played 40 minutes of very, very good soccer," Boehling said. "I would hazard to say that there are very few club teams that could play any better than we did in the first half. We moved the ball well, we moved without the ball, we just completely had them put under for 40 minutes. It really shows the potential of how we can play."

The Hokies controlled the second half, but the execution wasn't nearly as flawless. A fantastic individual effort by Taylor Johnson put the Hokies in front, 2-0, midway through the half, but it would be the goal concession in the last minute that would leave a sour taste with Boehling, despite the 2-1 victory.  

"If you want to compete at the highest level, you just can't concede goals like that, " Boehling said. "It was just a series of errors that led to it ... and the last five minutes were a mental collapse."

The Hokies' next opponent, East Carolina, played a defensive game and relied on good goalkeeping throughout. The Pirates defense proved difficult to break down, and the teams were scoreless at the break. In the second half, six minutes from the final whistle, junior Kelly Mitchell finally broke down ECU's defense and scored the critical goal, which set up a date in the semifinals with Maryland. Boehling mentioned the team's exceptional communication and awareness as keys to the game-winner.

Continue Reading: 12 Next »