BLACKSBURG - No. 3 SMU left Virginia Tech with a clean sheet Sunday, using goals from Landon Hickam, Milton Lopez and Stephan Soghomonian to post a 3-0 ACC men’s soccer victory.
Hickam put the Mustangs in front in the seventh minute, Lopez added another in the 22nd, and Soghomonian sealed it with a penalty kick in the 63rd.
The shutout kept SMU on track in conference play. The Mustangs are 6-1 ACC and 11-1 overall, and they won their fourth straight game.
Virginia Tech dropped to 3-4-1 in the ACC and 7-5-2 overall.
SMU is set to host Clemson on Thursday, while Virginia Tech will play at North Carolina State on Oct. 26.
In other regional results Sunday, Virginia State won 4-0 at home against Elizabeth City State in CIAA men’s soccer.
Samie Seife made a penalty kick with 18:49 remaining to give the Trojans a 1-0 lead over the Royals on Saturday. Samie Seife also scored in the 22nd minute, and Joes scored in the 33rd minute. Soghomonia scored on a penalty kick in the 63rd minute.
Virginia Tech’s women’s soccer team also played Sunday, falling 4-3 at home to No. 3 Florida State in ACC action.
Katie Purnell and Lilly Clayton scored in the first six minutes to give the Hokies a 2-0 lead over the Eagles, but No. 4 Florida State rallied for a 4-2 lead.
Breanna Herlihy scored four goals to lead the host Panthers, who became only the second player in the program’s history to score at least four goals in a game.
In Other News...
Virginia Tech Fans Face A Costly New Push To Keep Up
Virginia Tech fans are about to feel the schools latest attempt to sharpen its financial edge. Athletic director Brian White announced significant increases in football and basketball season ticket prices beginning next season, along with mandatory Invest to Win commitments tied to seat quality, a move framed as part of the effort to bring in more revenue and keep the athletic department nationally competitive.
The changes land in a wider money squeeze that has been building around college athletics, where sponsorships and athlete compensation budgets now play a bigger role in the bottom line. For Hokies supporters, the message is clear enough: staying close to the program is getting more expensive, and the new pricing structure asks fans to help pay for the push to keep pace. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech Faces Its Biggest ACC Test With Poll Stakes Rising
Virginia Techs home date with Pitt on Oct. 2 comes with more than just early-season conference weight. Both teams are unbeaten in ACC play, and the Hokies are also hovering just outside the AP Top 25, so there is a little extra to play for beyond the usual race-positioning that comes with a league matchup in October. Add in Pitts first road game of the season and the stage is set for a test that should tell a lot about where Virginia Tech really stands.
The matchup also carries plenty of familiar football layers, from key players on both sides to the coaching background that comes with a game this meaningful in conference play. Virginia Techs defense has been central to its start, and Pitt arrives with its own profile worth measuring against. For the Hokies, the real question is whether this is the kind of win that pushes them closer to the ranking conversation, or simply keeps them in it for another week. [Read more 🡒]
Pitts Undefeated Start Faces A Real Test Against Virginia Tech
Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech are both rolling into this matchup at 4-0, which makes it one of the first true measuring-stick games of the season for either team. For the Hokies, the spotlight falls on the ground game, where the running backs have helped set the tone early and given Virginia Tech a physical identity that can travel.
Virginia Techs defense also adds another layer to the matchup, especially when stacked against Pitts numbers on that side of the ball. With unbeaten records on the line and betting interest already circling the game, this one feels like more than an early-season curiosity, it is the kind of game that can start sorting out which undefeated start is built to last. [Read more 🡒]
