Box Score

Virginia Tech - 4, Longwood - 0

 

FARMVILLE, Va. - Two was the magic number Thursday night as Emily Jukich scored two goals, Marika Gray posted two assists and Robin Chidester recorded two saves to help the Hokies shut out the Longwood Lancers, 4-0, in the final regular season non-conference game of the year at the Longwood Athletics Complex.

With the victory, the Hokies are back to .500 overall at 7-7-3 (2-5-2 ACC), with one game remaining at home against No. 10 Boston College on Sunday. Also, Tech has a 5-5 record on the road this year, the first time since 2003 that Tech has finished the regular season with at least a .500 record. The Lancers of the United Soccer Conference drop to 9-7-1 on the season in their first year as a fully certified Division I program.

The Hokies came out on the attack in the first half, attempting 11 shots to just one from Longwood. However, the Lancer goalkeeper Anne Whitmore made five saves to preserve a 0-0 tie at the half.

The floodgates finally opened though in the 60^th minute when freshman Jennifer Harvey (Roanoke, Va.) headed in her first career goal off a long throw-in from Julian Johnson (Norfolk, Va.). With the assist, Johnson has now tied senior Erin Moore (Poolesville, Md.) for the program's career assist record at 17 total.

Jukich (Clifton, Va.) scored her first of two goals at 76:17 off an assist from Gray (Alexandria, Va.) and Harvey. Jukich would only need 47 seconds to score her second goal, this time off Ashley Kinser (Johnson City, Tenn.). The defender Kinser recorded her first assist since 2004 with the pass.

Freshman Jessica Varela (Midlothian, Va.) added her first career goal at the 82^nd minute off a nice feed from Gray, who also had help from Mary Elizabeth Newton (Adairsville, Ga.), to give the Hokies four scores, tying the previous season high set against NC State in October.

Playing for an injured Ashley Owens (Greensboro, N.C.), Chidester (Virginia Beach, Va.) recorded her first career shutout in just her second-ever appearance after coming into a game last Sunday at Maryland. She finished with two saves, while Whitmore had seven for Longwood. Chidester has yet to give up a goal after 167 minutes on the pitch.

At the end of the game, the Hokies had a 21-3 lead in shots and a 4-2 edge in corner kicks.

The women conclude the regular season on Sunday at 1 p.m. against No. 10 Boston College as five seniors play their final game in Blacksburg. Kinser, Newton, Moore, Heather Hallberg (Richmond, Va.) and Gina Om (Fairfax, Va.) will look to end their time at Virginia Tech with an upset as the Hokies try to earn a berth into the ACC Tournament.

Tech is currently tied with Clemson for the tournament's eighth and final spot at eight points. The Tigers, who have the tiebreaker over the Hokies, face Duke next on Saturday night. As a result, Tech will need to have a better result in comparison to be invited to Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex.