After Tie with Penn State, Virginia Tech “Flat” in 1-0 Loss to Illinois

The Virginia Tech women’s soccer team entered the week at 4-0-2 and with momentum, coming off a statement win over ranked Georgetown. It faced two Big 10 teams in preparation for the team’s ACC slate. First, the Hokies traveled to face Penn State this past Thursday and then returned home to welcome the visiting Illinois and celebrate the graduating seniors. With the Virginia Tech football game on Saturday, senior day, and the dynamics of college life, Head Coach Chugger Adair was concerned about distractions and coming out flat on Sunday. His concerns were justified.

Virginia Tech and Penn State Finish in a 1-1 Draw

The Hokies controlled the match against Penn State from the start, even forcing a save from Penn State goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress in the first two minutes of the match. Shortly after, Virginia Tech seemed to strike gold. Gabby Cioca moved the ball forward to Anna Weir, who dribbled past two defenders and put the ball into the back of the net. Unfortunately, the goal was waved off as the ball hit Weir’s arm as she settled the ball for a shot.

Both teams had a number of shots in the first half, with Virginia Tech forcing Gress to make four saves. Penn State also had a couple of strong chances, one of which forced Julianna Trujillo to make a save. 

The Nittany Lions broke through in the 15th minute as Peyron May fouled Penn State’s Aybrey Kulpa in the box. Paige Kalal slotted the penalty shot into the bottom right corner of the net as she caught Trujillo going the wrong direction.

Neither team could find the net the rest of the half, which ended with the 1-0 Penn State lead.

The teams traded chances in to start the second half. Virginia Tech’s Eliana Salama had a great look at goal, but her bullet sailed over the goal.  Another Hokie in the 56th minute shot forced Gress to leap and push the ball over the crossbar.  Penn State had a chance in the 63rd minute when Kulpa sent a cross into the box that Elllie Kocher directed toward the goal, but the shot ricocheted off the crossbar.

Virginia Tech began attacking heavily, barraging the goal with shots. In fact, the Hokies took 13 shots in the second half,  but Gress made six more saves to keep the Hokies at bay.

The Hokies finally found the equalizer in the 85th minutes when Lilli Lubic took a throw into the 18-yard box. Celine Kampmann tipped the ball enough that it landed in front of Johannah Bradley, who took the shot toward the net. Goalkeeper Tress deflected the kick, but Gabby Ciocca jumped on the rebound, hammering just past Tress to make it 1-1. After initially being called offside, a VAR review reversed the call to give the Hokies the match tying goal.

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Neither team could find the breakthrough goal. Penn State had a final chance to win the match with 36 seconds left when Virginia Tech goalkeeper Trujillo secured a shot on a rebound. A review for a handball in the box was deemed not a handball by VAR, leaving the match equal at 1-1.

Match Notes:

• Virginia Tech outshot Penn State 21-14. The Hokies had 11 shots on goal, the second most this season.

• Eliana Salama had 5 shots but only 1 shot on goal.

• Anna Weir and Gabby Ciocca led the Hokies with 3 shots on goal apiece. Johannah Bradely had 2 shots on goal.

• Gabby Ciocca scored her 3rd goal of the season, which puts her second on the team behind Anna Weir.

• Johannah Bradley delivered the first assist of her career.

• Goalkeeper Julianna Trujillo tied her season-high with 3 saves.

• The Hokies committed 14 fouls for the game, compared to Penn State’s 8.

Sluggish Virginia Tech Falls to Illinois, 0-1

Virginia Tech started the game looking flat. The Hokies only generated five shots, with few being on goal. In addition, they turned the ball over frequently enough that they found maintaining possession difficult. Illinois had a number of opportunities through the middle third, but Virginia Tech was able to shut down most threats in the backend.

Illinois struck first in the 44th minute. After Virginia Tech’s Madi Boutot was called for a yellow card for a collision with the Illinois goalkeeper, Illinois sent the free kick long. Several Illinois and Tech players fought for the ball, which ultimately found the feet of Illinois player.Ava Arengo. She delivered a pass for Gabrielle Garcia-Terrell to run under. Three Illinois players surged forward against two Tech defenders. Garcia-Terell passed across the front of the goal to Arengo, who tapped it to a wide open Ryleigh Wood on the weakside to break the deadlock just before half-time.

Down 1-0 to start the second half, the Hokies started the right themselves, were better defensively, and generated more opportunities, to the tune of 15 shots. Unfortunately, many of those opportunities didn’t really challenge Illinois goalkeeper Izzy Lee, who did make two stand out plays to preserve the shutout.

At the 58 minute mark, Virginia Tech’s Hannah Pachan played one of the team’s eight second half corner kicks into the box. Madi Boutot got a header on net that would have tied the match; however, Lee dove to punch the ball away at the last second. Lee also stopped a break away chance in the 86th minute to preserve the shutout.

SIX THOUGHTS:

Coming Out Flat:

The Hokies did not play their best Sunday. They looked tired, reactionary, and out of sync at times. Coach Adair pounced on this during his media interview with me.

“We didn’t come to play the first 45. We were a little bit flat. We were flat in our warmup, and it translated to the first 45,” Adair said. “The second half, we picked up the energy and we picked up the pressure, but didn’t have enough quality to get the result we needed.”

He added. “It is senior day, football game last night. We played at Penn State. There were a lot of things we were worried about, and I tried to chat with the girls about that, about trying to make sure that staying focused on the game was most important, not the other stuff. It is really hard to get through all that stuff.”

Physical Game:

The match was physical, especially in the first half. Virginia Tech was called for 8 fouls to Illinois’ 6 in the first half.  The Hokies were assessed for two yellow cards on challenges trying to get to the ball as the goalkeeper closed on it. Anna Weir almost picked up her second yellow and possible ejection when she took down a defender after she felt her jersey was tugged as she attacked. A review determined her foul was just a common foul. Madi Boutot also picked up a yellow card after.  Illinois itself was called for two yellows.

Virginia Tech only committed one foul in the second half whereas Illinois was called for eight.

Generating Opportunities and Finishing in the Final Third

While Virginia Tech has been able to generate shot opportunities, it continued to have issues getting quality shots on goal and finishing.

Whereas both teams only had 5 shots in the first half, but Illinois put more shots on goal, ultimately the key one being the winning score. In the second half, the Hokies doubled up Illinois in shots, 20-10 and had 9-4 shots on goal as their activity level increased.

For the season, Virginia Tech has had 167 shot attempts, with only 19 goals to show for those shots. It has a . .437 shots on goal percentage but only a .108 shot percentage, meaning so many of the shots taken are not threatening the goal. 
What is the issue? Every situation is different, but to give a few examples from the Illinois match:

In the 35d minute of the second half, Virginia Tech turned Illinois over near mid-field. When Peyton May got the ball on the right side, she had five players in the vicinity of her, including Lilli Lubic in the middle and Eliana Salana on the far side.  Weir moved forward and then sent a crosser rolling across the front of the goal. Salana had moved into the middle and had remained too far out to do anything, and no one was on the far side, so the ball rolled harmlessly across the face of the goal. 

There were instances in which a player got the ball outside, and, rather than pass, tried to take potentially defenders on with multiple moves, only to see the ball taken away or hit out of bounds. In another situation, a player received a pass and the give and go was there, but the player did not pass it, or, a moment when a player expected a teammate to pass and move, so sent the ball into space only for the teammate to stand still. There are multiple instances when a player opts for a shot when defenders around then when there are teammates available around the 18 foot box to pass to for a better shot.

These dynamics are part of soccer, but sharing the ball and having more variety in attacks would help.  Earlier this season, Coach Adair lamented the poor conversion and said players need to stop being “so cute.” 

When asked what he wanted to see from his primary shot takers, Adair said, “I would like to see them keep things simple. Play what is on. Not try to overplay and, fundamentally, four saves. We don’t want to squander chances, missing high, missing wide. Make the keeper make saves and see what happens.”

Defensive Breakdowns in the Middle:

Illinois put pressure on the Virginia Tech defense, especially in the first half. The Illini found space in the middle third and got past Hokie defenders. To their credit, Tech defenders dug in on the back end and cleared the ball until that moment when they got outmanned on Illinois’s winning goal.

Coach Adair said “We were a little bit tired. In the second half, we were pushing forward, so created some gaps in the midfield, but I don’t think we did enough job condensing that midfield in the first half. We weren’t proactive in the defensive shape. We were reactionary, kind of late here and there. Probably the flatness we had. Disappointed in that.”

Turnovers / Lost Possessions:

Virginia Tech were a bit sloppy in the first half, often gaining possession but giving it right back either due to missing passes or wrongly anticipating where teammates might move. The Hokies showed sustained improvement in the second half, especially when they were more direct.

Sophomores Making an Impact:

The Hokies have a number of upperclassmen that drive the team such as Anna Weir, Eliana Salama, Juliana Trujillo, and Gabby Ciocca. Three freshmen - Johannah Bradley, Celine Kampmann, and Riley Karpinski - either start or get meaningful minutes. However, the core of this team is its sophomore group. Five sophomores are typically in the starting lineup, including against Illinois: Peyton May, Hannah Pachan, Madi Boutot, Ellie Robertson, and Julia Tepes. Four more saw action as substitutes and contribute on a game-by-game basis.

“They have been good for us. They came in last year. We had a lot of injuries. They stepped up. They have earned minutes. They are sophomores but they are more experienced beyond their years,” Adair said. “The sophomores do a pretty good job of having a professional mentality. They are out doing extras. They are in the training room. They are doing the things they need to do to take care of themselves. We have been happy with them. Some of them are on the leadership council, so it is a good thing.”

Spotlight: Peyton May is one of those sophomores. She is a tall target in the box on corner kicks and also plays a pivotal role in the middle both defensively and facilitating the offense. Coach Adair acknowledged that “She has to do alot, She is a big person in our group. Not only is she tall, she can do some things. She is in the middle and can pivot, and can play at the top. She has the ability to head the ball in. We need her to work a little bit more on getting on the ball and moving the ball quickly. She didn’t play a lot of minutes last year. Now, she is growing, and is so much better this year and more impactful. So, we are happy with that.”

OTHER PLAYERS: 

Anna Weir earned the ACC Offensive Player of the Week after she recorded her 3-goal hat trick against William & Mary and the assist on the winning goal in the 2-1 victory of No. 22 Georgetown.

Gabby Ciocca represents an emerging storyline for this year’s Hokies. The junior appeared in a total of 7 matches for 70 minutes her first two years (4 in 2024 and 3 in 2025). Ciocca is having a breakout 2025. She has played in 8 games, starting 4, and earned 496 minutes. The North Carolina native is second on the team with 3 goals, including the game-tying score against Penn State and the initial goal against Georgetown.

Senior Day

The Hokies honored three seniors prior to the game:  Sarah Rosenbaum, Savannah Sabo, and Anna Weir.  After starting 18 of 23 matches in 2024, Sarah Rosenbaum did not appear in 2025 due to injury and has not appeared in 2026. She has 4 goals and 2 assists in her career.  Savannah Sabo appeared in three matches as a junior and two matches this year.  Anna Weir is taking her senior year by storm, leading the Hokies with 5 goals and second on the team with  3 assists.

UP NEXT:

Virginia Tech does not play again until it opens ACC play at Pitt on September 17, so the team has to “sit on this for 12 days” as Adair put it. The Hokies have to rest, recover, learn and be ready for the ACC games.

The game against Pitt will be on Thursday, September 17 at 7:00, and will be streamed on the ACCNx platform.