Fallen starters shine in lineup

BLACKSBURG, Va. â€" Virginia Tech's Senior Night turned out to be a celebration for a pair of Terrapin seniors who probably needed it most.

Forward Marc Burch and goalkeeper Craig Salvati - who are now in reserve roles after beginning the season as starters - pushed the No. 3-ranked Terps past the No. 13 Hokies and their one-man show, 2-1, into double overtime.

In a dramatic from-behind victory for the Terps (14-3-1, 7-1-0 ACC), Burch headed home the golden goal with about seven minutes left in the final overtime session. Senior forward Jason Garey set it up as he chased down a long pass near the endline and sent a cross toward the middle, where junior midfielder A.J. Godbolt popped it to the undefended far post.

"I just kept my head right near the post," Burch said.

Upon scoring the game-winner, the usually even-keeled Burch displayed some emotion as he broke away from a mob of teammates and placed his index finger over his lips, shushing the already-deflated home crowd.

After playing just 12 first-half minutes, Burch - who suffered a calf injury midway through the season and has struggled some since - re-entered the game with about 20 minutes remaining and stayed on the field the rest of the way, although coach Sasho Cirovski frequently changed his lineup.

"I had a pretty good week in practice scoring some goals and [Cirovski] said my confidence was getting up," Burch said.

Filling in for the injured freshman goalkeeper Chris Seitz, Salvati also keyed the Terps' win. He kept the Terps within striking distance, making five saves on the night and playing aggressively in the box.

On the sequence directly before Burch's goal, Salvati - in just his second start in 10 games - skied to snare a loose ball as two Hokies converged for a game-winning header attempt.

"If the ball is in the air, I want to get it, especially in the six [yard box]," Salvati said. "I knew they were going to come at me, and I just tried to hold my own as much as possible."

All evening Salvati and the Terps were under fire by Virginia Tech's Patrick Nyarko, a freshman sensation from Ghana. Nyarko beautifully engineered the first goal of the game early in the second half, as he streaked down the far sideline and eased a cross to his fellow Ghana native Joshua Boateng, who beat Salvati to the ball and knocked it in the open net.

From that moment, the Terps were forced to play catch-up. After dodging a few more chances by Nyarko, the Terps finally struck for the equalizer with seven minutes to go when sophomore midfielder Stephen King turned toward the net from 20 yards out and drove in a shot past goalie Chase Harrison.

"To come back in these circumstances and get this win, that shows me that this team does have the heart of a champion," Cirovski said. "I believe this will catapult us into a good run in the ACC and NCAA tournaments."

The ACC tournament begins Tuesday in Cary, N.C., with the No. 1-seeded Terps playing Wednesday against the winner of Wake Forest/Boston College.

Contact reporter Daniel Chiat at chiatdbk@gmail.com.