Late Own-Goal Propels Hokies Over Syracuse

By Nick Petraccione

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse lost to Virginia Tech 2-1 because of a costly own-goal scored by the Orange in the 86th minute of regulation.

With the score tied at one and overtime just minutes away, Kelsey Irwin, Virginia Tech’s starting defender, lofted a ball into the box. Syracuse junior Jessica Vigna jumped up to head the ball away. But it sailed backwards and into the left side netting of her own goal, just narrowing missing the hands of goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan.

Coming into the match Syracuse head coach Phil Wheddon had a lot of confidence in his defense.

“I honestly didn’t think Virginia Tech was gonna score on us… Unfortunately for us they got an own-goal. It’s a tough way to lose, especially in the last ten minutes of the game.”

It was the second own-goal scored in the match. Virginia Tech also gave one up in the 71st minute off of an Orange corner kick.

Syracuse stayed competitive in the game thanks to a strong performance by Brosnan. She had five saves, including a crucial stop on a Hokies penalty kick in the 83rd minute to keep the game tied.

Brosnan fought through a lot of pain in the game. Late in the first half she injured her shoulder when Alani Johnson fell over her while she was on the ground. The training staff evaluated her for about six minutes before she stood up and was ready to play again.

Regardless of the loss, Wheddon and his team thought they played well.

“We put in a really good 90 minute performance in. We were winning the 50-50s… We were unlucky not to score a couple more goals,” said senior Stephanie Skilton.

Syracuse wore pink jerseys today for their annual “Pink Game” in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The Orange is back in action on Sunday when they host #18 Florida State at 1pm.