Ohio State Falls to Virginia Tech in NCAA Tournament

Results (PDF) | Season Stats (PDF)

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State Buckeyes had their 2021 season come to an end in Blacksburg, Va., Friday evening, losing a first-round NCAA Tournament game to the Virginia Tech Hokies, 3-1. The game was tied at the 67-minute mark of the second half but a pair of Hokie goals from that point sent the home team on to the second round.

Ohio State ends its season 9-9-2 while Virginia Tech, 12-5-2, advances to the second round of the NCAA championship with a game Nov. 19 against either Arkansas or Louisiana.

How it Happened

Virginia Tech jumped out to a 1-0 lead off a goal by Emily Gray, her 12th of the season, at the 11:29 mark of the first half. Assists went to Emmalee McCarter and Nicole Kozlova. It was the culmination of some early pressure that saw the Hokies put five shots on goal in the first 10 minutes.

The first half ended with the Hokies holding their 1-0 lead, and also holding edges in shots, 12-3, shots on goal, 9-3, and in corners, 3-2.

Ohio State quickly tied things up just one minute into the second half as Emma Sears scored her sixth goal of the season off assists from Izzy Rodriguez and Kayla Fischer. Sears, a junior, found the lower left corner of the goal with a left-footed shot.

The Hokies regained the lead at the 67:23 mark as Tori Powell scored for a 2-1 lead. Assists went to Emma Pelkowski and Victoria Haugen. About 16 minutes later Virginia Tech all but sealed the victory with a goal by Emma Steigerwald off an assist from Emily Gray. It was Gray’s third point of the night and her 32nd of the season.

Notes

Virginia Tech held a 19-9 advantage in shots and a 13-5 advantage in shots on goal.
Buckeye Goalkeeper Bailey Kolinski tied her season high with 10 saves. She has now recorded 24 saves in three NCAA Tournament matches.
Kayla Fischer had five of Ohio State’s shots and four of the shots on goal.
Fischer led the Buckeyes in 2021 with 19 points off six goals and a team-high seven assists.
Freshman Kailyn Dudukovich led in goals with seven and was right behind Fischer with 17 total points.
Emma Sears also contributed double figure points for the Buckeyes this year with 14 points.
This was the fourth start in an NCAA Tournament game for seniors Fischer and Izzy Rodriguez.
This was Ohio State’s 15th NCAA Tournament appearance and its sixth in the last seven years, all under the direction of head coach Lori Walker-Hock.
Ohio State defeated Virginia Tech in the 2015 NCAA Tournament in State College, Pa., 1-0.

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