Hokies’ Thompson Field offers cautionary tale for men's soccer

The Terrapins men's soccer team knows it inherited its No. 1 national ranking from a loss that occurred on the same field it will visit tomorrow.

Then-top-ranked North Carolina trekked to Virginia Tech's Thompson Field on Sept. 10 for what seemed like a comfortable ACC opener. But after 90 minutes and one overtime period had yielded zero goals, Hokies defender James Shupp raced past his Tar Heels marker and netted a 6-yard goal to capture a 1-0 win in double overtime.

After his golden goal, Shupp darted down the Virginia Tech sideline and yanked off his jersey as his teammates enveloped him in a bear hug. As a program that had tallied just one conference win last season and was picked to finish last this year in the ACC preseason poll, Virginia Tech understood the enormity of the moment.

"This is the start of something special here," said Hokies goalkeeper Kyle Renfro, who was named Soccer America's Player of the Week after posting a career-high nine saves against North Carolina.

The No. 1 Terps, who face Virginia Tech tomorrow night in Blacksburg, Va., are hoping that "something" isn't too special.

The Terps (7-0-1, 2-0 ACC) are looking to rebound from their first non-victory of the season — a scoreless tie at Seton Hall on Tuesday — and becoming the second top-ranked team to lose at Virginia Tech (3-4-0, 1-1 ACC) in less than two weeks does not fit into that plan.

"The fact that they beat UNC gives us that extra energy," midfielder Sunny Jane said. "It makes us want it even more."

But for the Terps to secure their first 3-0 start in ACC play since 2003, they'll likely need their offense to return to form.

With Seton Hall packing its backline Tuesday, the Terps couldn't find the net for the first time in almost two years. It was a major meltdown for an offense that hadn't scored fewer than two goals in a game this season and had entered the game outscoring its opposition, 23-6.

"Missing a lot of goals got some of us frustrated," said Jane, who misfired on five shots of his own against Seton Hall. "After that, we just couldn't focus."

And unlike last season, when the Terps routed an undermanned Virginia Tech team, 7-0, coach Sasho Cirovski knows they'll need a complete effort to defeat a healthy Hokies squad this year.

Relying heavily upon Renfro, who missed all but seven games last season with a shoulder injury, Virginia Tech hasn't lost a game by more than a single goal this season. Outside of their headline-grabbing win over the Tar Heels, the Hokies also dropped a close match to then-No. 22 East Tennessee State on Tuesday. They also nearly upset then-No. 11 Boston College last Friday.

In that match, a 4-3 loss, the Hokies overcame a 3-1 halftime deficit to score two second-half goals against the Eagles and push the game into overtime.

"Not many teams go to Boston College and do that," Cirovski said. "So we feel like they're going to be able to compete against anybody in the ACC."

It's almost hard to believe that Virginia Tech — a team that could easily boast three wins over top-25 teams — started its season with a 1-0 loss to Mid-Eastern Athletic conference member Howard. Today, that Aug. 27 win is the Bison's lone victory.

But the Terps won't be facing that team tomorrow. They'll be facing a team hungry to build something special. And what better way to do that than beat two No. 1 teams in the same month?

"They upset North Carolina earlier this year at their place," Cirovski said. "That's what has our attention."

letourneau@umdbk.com