Nov. 14, 2007

• 2007 ACC Men's Soccer Tournament
• Box Score
• Photo Gallery
• Webcast Archived on ACC Select

CARY, N.C. - Virginia Tech advanced to the semifinals of the 2007 ACC Men's Soccer Championship with a 3-0 win over Maryland at the SAS Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. on Wednesday. For the Hokies, the win marked the school's first-ever victory in ACC men's soccer postseason action.

"It was important for us to win a game for these seniors who had been with us for four or four-and-a-half years," said Virginia Tech head coach Oliver Weiss. "This is our first conference postseason victory. It was a tremendous feat, and it's been a long time coming."

The Hokies' first goal came at 21:15 of the first half. After a Maryland foul just outside of the Terps' goal box, Virginia Tech senior Ben Nason fired in the ensuing free kick to put the Hokies up 1-0. Nason's fifth goal of the season was assisted by sophomore Charles Campbell.

For the rest of the half, the two teams would compete on even terms, with each failing to capitalize on opportunities near the net. Going into the locker room at the end of the half, each team had recorded three shots and the Hokies remained on top 1-0.

In the second half, Virginia Tech continued to put pressure on the Terps' defense. In the 65th minute, junior forward Patrick Nyarko put the Hokies up 2-0 when he got behind the Maryland defense and finished a long pass over the middle from senior Georg Zehender. The Hokies would again extend their lead at 82:57 when Nason scored his second goal of the game, and sixth of the season, off a pass from Nyarko.

The Terps, now 10-5-4 on the season, will await word of their NCAA Tournament fate this weekend. Selections for the national tournament will be released this coming Monday at 5:30 p.m.

ACC Championship semifinal action will continue on Friday, Nov. 16 with games slated at 5:30 and 8 p.m. The championship game will kickoff at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 18. All games are available online through ACCSelect.com, while the championship game will be nationally-televised on Fox Sports Net. The ACC men's soccer awards ceremony will be immediately following the title game.

For complete results, please visit TheACC.com and make sure to check out the 2007 ACC Men's Soccer Championship page.

Quotes:

Virginia Tech head coach Oliver Weiss

"Any time you win a game in the ACC Tournament with a shutout against a ranked opponent. The four versus five team is traditionally a very tough match, so we're very pleased. I think if you look at our entire season, it may rank up there with one of our best performance."

"It was important for us to win a game for these seniors who had been with us for four or four-and-a-half years. Ben [Nason] is one of them. He's been through these ACC and even BIG EAST Tournaments, and this is our first conference postseason victory. It was a tremendous feat, and it's been a long time coming."

"We faced a great team, on a 10-match unbeaten streak. We deserved the win the whole way, and played excellent defense and scored goals because we had a game plan to absorb their pressure. We didn't want to become unpredictable and wanted to get some scoring opportunities."

"Ben had a huge hand in it. If he plays well for us, we have a great chance of winning. If he scores a goal, I don't think we can lose. That was the case today, there was no way we were going to lose this game, after about 60 minutes when we scored the second goal."

Virginia Tech senior midfielder Ben Nason:

"It feels great. I've never actually advanced in postseason play since [earning a tie] in the NCAA Tournament during my freshman year, and that still wasn't a win. This win was really big. Everyone contributed and did things for us and converted on their chances. Overall, it was a really good win."