Collegiate Times

Redshirt freshman Amanda Gerhard dribbles by a Davidson player on Sept. 20.

Coming off of a loss to conference rival Florida State in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals, the Virginia Tech women’s soccer team has garnered a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament’s UCLA bracket.

The No. 17 Hokies will face the Ohio Valley Conference Champions, Murray State (11-8-2, 5-2-1), in Dayton, Ohio on Friday afternoon in the opening round.

Having already claimed the best season in program history this year, the Hokies (14-7, 6-4 ACC) remain focused on achieving yet another of their season’s goals — advancing in the NCAA tournament.

“We, as a team, revisited our season goals yesterday (Wednesday),” said head coach Kelly Cagle. “I think they realize how important each game is. There’s no postseason after a loss here. We’re going to focus on just taking each game one by one. One of this program’s goals was to get back-to-back NCAA tournaments and then to move throughout the tournament. I think they’re prepared to do that.”

Freshman forward Kelly Conheeney believes the team has the potential to advance far into the tournament, but she isn’t looking past Murray State.

“Our first goal is to win the first game, because if we don’t win the first game, we can’t win the second game or the third game,” Conheeney said. “So, that’s our goal for now, and after that we’ll set another goal for ourselves, but that’s definitely a possibility. We can beat anyone we want to if we play the way we can.”

In the first ever meeting between the two schools, the Hokies are looking to squash the Racers’ first NCAA appearance. Tech, who is playing in its third NCAA tournament and first back-to-back appearance, will have to find a way to get past the Racer defense.

In its last eight games, Murray State has recorded seven shutouts on the heels of junior goalkeeper Tara Isbell. In those same eight games, the Racers have scored 10 goals while allowing just two.

Despite the impressive defense, MSU has not yet faced a ranked opponent. The Hokies, while ranked No. 17 themselves, have faced seven top-25 teams and boast a 4-5 record against them.

The Hokies attack, led by the trifecta of Conheeney, Jennifer Harvey and Marika Gray, has boasted 39 goals and 22 assists on the season and looks to extend those numbers on Friday.

“I think for the first game, we just need to do what we can to get that first win,” Cagle said. “It’s just going to take our best effort in terms of trying to focus on the things that have made us good all year long — taking care of the small things, relying on our strengths, minimizing our weaknesses.

“I don’t really think it is going to depend on the opponent as much as it is going to depend on just the start for us and how we take care of those things, and I think we’re in a good position to really do that.”

If the Hokies defeat the Murray State Racers Friday afternoon, they will face the winner of the Marquette vs. Dayton game in a quick turnaround matchup on Sunday afternoon.

“We would do a walkthrough (on Saturday),” Cagle said. “It’s going to have to be enough time. We’re just going to focus on Friday right now and then hopefully get to that point on Saturday. It’s a win that we’re hoping to get, and we’re definitely putting in the effort to do so.”

Even though the Hokies received a No. 3 seed for the tournament and arguably could have hosted a regional, Gray is taking the slight as a challenge.

“No, I personally like road games,” Gray said. “I mean, I love home games and we would have loved to have a home bid, but on the road it’s kind of like you get a chance to prove yourself and prove that you’re even better. Everyone knows you can play at home, but if you win, people know you can play on the road, so it’s kind of more of a challenge.”