Click here for a photo gallery from the game.
After a lethargic first half in which Tech only had four shots (their opponent only had five shots), the Hokies went into halftime with a scoreless tie.
"I was not impressed with our team in the first half in terms of our possession, our fight, which was our game plan," said Tech head coach Kelly Cagle. "I don't think we adhered to it very well."
Fortunately for the Hokies, with 23:48 left to go in the game, junior Julian Johnson got past her defender on the right side of the goal and centered the ball to junior Emily Jukich, who headed the ball past sophomore goalkeeper, Rachel Barnette, to give the Tech a 1-0 lead.
"I think we came to play in the second half," Cagle said. "Emily Jukich was a big part of that. We expect her to lead and make good decisions out there. I felt like from a leadership possession standpoint, we really took the game over, right away, in the second half, and that's the expectation."
Tech cushioned their lead just a few minutes later. With 15:12 left to play, Tech got out in front with a two-on-one scenario. Jukich drew the defender and passed the ball from the left side of the net to the wide-open sophomore, Niki King. King drilled the ball past the oncoming keeper to cushion the lead for the Hokies, making it 2-0.
Shortly thereafter, with 14:10 left to go, Emily Jukich squibbed a ball from the left side of the net that went right through the legs of Barnette, ensuring a Hokies victory.
"I think it was everyone taking on some personal responsibility," Cagle said. "I thought our second half was some of the best we've played, to be honest. It was a game of two halves, because I was not happy at all with our first half. I think that's a tale of a good team, to be able to hear that at half time, and to be able to acknowledge it and do something about it. This is a huge win for us today."
The Hokies finished the game with 19 shots and one save compared to the Wolfpack, who had just eight shots to go along with five corner kicks and five saves.
True freshman Kristen Carden started in goal for Tech. Redshirt senior Ashley Owens came in with about nine minutes left to go in the game. The two combined for the Hokies' third shutout of the season.
I'm excited that both (Owens) and (Carden) shared the shutout," Cagle said. "We've got two great goalkeepers. It's the deepest we've ever been at our goalkeeping position. I couldn't be happier with (them)."
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