There is dominance, and then there is Virginia Tech Women’s Soccer. So far in the 2014 season, the Hokies have been nearly unstoppable. BR-7 Virginia Tech is currently 10-0 with a ACC conference opening win over Clemson last Friday. Led by Head Coach Chugger Adair, its undefeated start is best in program history as well as it’s longest overall winning streak.
Tech has not only beat it’s opponents, they have crushed them. The Hokies have outscored their opponents 48-3 and have pitched seven shutouts, good for a minimal .30 goals per game average by its competition. What is even more impressive is that the Hokies have not allowed a single goal in the first half yet this season. In its biggest test yet against then BR-11 Georgetown, the Hokies matched a season high with six goals in a 6-1 win.
A major contributor to all of the Hokies goose eggs is Junior goalkeeper Caroline Kelly. Kelly has started nine games and totaled 757 minutes in net. Of that total, Kelly has allowed a grand total of 2 goals and tallied 11 saves, good for .846 save percentage. Kelly sits tied for fourth in Hokie History with nine shutouts and tied for sixth in wins with 12.
On offense, Virginia Tech has buried its opponents with a multitude of players. Led by Sophomore Murielle Tiernan with seven goals, the Hokies have eight others players whom have scored at least two goals this season. The team has outshot its opponents by a margin of 202-48. Tiernan, who was named to the ACC All-Freshman team in 2013, is already tied for third in game winning goals at Virginia Tech with eight and tenth in school history in total goals scored. Her 11 goals(five-game winning) led her Hokie teammates last season and was second-most by a Virginia Tech Freshman all-time.
It has been so far so good for the Hokies, who are looking for there 1st ACC Women’s soccer championship since joining the league in 2004. The league has been dominated by national power North Carolina, who have won 20 of the 22 conference championships and 21 of the 31 NCAA Championships.
While the Hokies have a long way to go to catch that record, there could be something special happening in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech, who has rolled over much inferior competition, will face five teams inside the Bennett rank top 20 for the rest of the season. It’s next three games, BR-11 Notre Dame, BR-16 Duke, and BR-8 North Carolina are all inside that ranking. What happens in those games and in the short coming weeks could be a indicator of how good the Hokies are.
So far though, things are looking very impressive at Virginia Tech and nothing has seemed to force the Hokies to land. If the next month is any barometer of the first, the team could be soaring at its First ACC crown. At any event, the ACC title rise should be a very intriguing one to keep an eye on.
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