Article

The Corner: Soccer Goes 2-0 While Golf, Cross-Country, and Tennis Show Well. And MORE

News, Notes, and Events Round Up For All Women's Fall Sports

Michael Turner·September 24, 2026

The Corner: Soccer Goes 2-0 While Golf, Cross-Country, and Tennis Show Well. And MORE

WOMEN'S FALL SPORTS UPDATES AT THE CORNER

The Corner is the spot for regular updates of women’s sports news and events this fall. Visit Sons of Saturday for a round up of both in-season activity as well as off-season updates for other programs.

WHAT’S ON TAP - UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Before getting into the latest news, here is the schedule for upcoming games and events:

Volleyball - Friday, Sept. 25 at 7:00 pm - at Georgia Tech in Athens, GA - ACCNx

Women’s Soccer - Sunday, Sept. 27 at 6:00 pm - at NC State in Raleigh, NC - ACCNx

Women’s Tennis - The ITA All-American Championships continue through Sunday, Sept. 27 in Cary, NC. Watch the Stream here

Women’s Cross Country - Next event is Friday, Oct. 2 at 5:00 pm - Fire Tower Project at Appalachian State in Boone, NC.

Women’s Swimming and Diving - Next event is Friday-Saturday, Oct. 2-3 - against Liberty and Penn State - at Christiansburg, VA.

Softball - Fall Ball Schedule on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 12:00 pm against Radford (not regular season) in Radford, VA.

Lacrosse - Fall schedule on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 11:15 am against JMU and 12:30 against VCU.

Women’s Golf - Next event is Mon-Wed, Oct 5-7 at The Ally - at West Point, Miss.

Women’s Basketball - ACC Tip Off will be held in Charlotte, NC between Oct 6-8.

VIRGINIA TECH WOMEN’S SOCCER GOES ON THE ROAD TO DEFEAT PITT AND SYRACUSE TO START 2-0 IN THE ACC

Sometimes, painful memories are best left in the past. On the other hand, they can be healing and allow one to shift perspective. The Hokies women’s softball team did not win an ACC game last season. They went 4-10-4 overall, but 0-8-2 in the ACC in 2025. Granted, many of those losses were close, but the team was hit by injuries and had to thrust young players into action. It is paying off this season as the Hokies already have two wins in the ACC, both on the road.

The Hokies Score Late on a Karpinski Golazo To Defeat Pitt 2-1

With a win against a ranked Georgetown squad, but inconsistent play at times against Big Ten foes Penn State and Illinois, which version of Virginia Tech would show up in its matchup against Pitt on September 17.

Both teams exchanged possession through the first half, without either team generating too many meaningful opportunities to score. Pittsburgh outshot the Hokies 7-3 as Virginia Tech found it difficult to unlock its primary goalscorers. Whenever the Panthers did seem to gain an advantage, Hokie defenders put out the fire or goalkeeper Julianna Trujillo was on point with 4 first half saves.

Virginia Tech had a chance to go ahead in the 35th minute when defender Bella Ganiere worked the ball out of her own end against pressure defense. Forward Eliana Salama received a pass near midfield, turned, and delivered a long pass to the right sideline that forward Riley Karspinski ran down. Karpinski made a move back to the inside and sent the ball back to Salama, who unleashed a shot toward goal that just missed the far post.

Pittsburgh had its own opportunity in the 40th minute when the Hokies misplayed a long goal kick, allowing Sofia Doheny to attack the box from the left side corner. Virginia Tech defender Celine Kampman did an excellent job shutting down the angle, and when Doheny sent a shot toward the net, goalkeeper Trujillo made the initial stop. However, Trujillo could not secure the rebound, giving Doheny another shot at goal. Trujillo made the double stop to preserve the scoreless tie.

Video from this post on X — September 17, 2026 · View on X

The Panthers broke through in the 57th minute with a breakaway behind the Tech defense that led to a one-on-finish against Trujillo to put Pittsburgh up 1-0.

Virginia Tech tied it up two minutes later when Ganiere sent a corner kick into the six-yard box. Kampmann found the ball in the air and sent a header past a diving goalkeeper to make it 1-1.

The Hokies struck suddenly in the 77th minute when Hannah Pachan stole a ball and sent it forward down the left side to Salama, who moved the ball into the middle to forward Anna Weir. Weir passed to Karpinski, who took a dribble past a defender to her right and sent a strike that found the upper far corner of the goal.

Karpinski’s amazing goal gave the Hokies a 2-1 lead, which stood up as the Tech defense held off the Panthers at bay. This all ocurred in "monsoon" like rainy conditions!

Match Notes:

Pittsburgh outshot Virginia Tech, 14-13, but the Hokies opened up more chances in the second half (10 shots to Pitt’s 7).
Eight different Hokies had shot attempts, with 4 having shots on goal.
Hannah Pachan had 2 assists, contributing to both Virginia Tech goals. Bella Ganiere had the first assist of her career. Anna Weir and Eliana Salama also delivered assists putting Salama in a second place tie in the ACC..
Julianna Trujillo made 6 saves.
Celine Kampmann scored the first goal of her career.
Virginia Tech recorded 10 corner kicks, the fourth time this year that the Hokies had 10

Virginia Tech's Pachan's Goal Takes Down Syracuse, 1-0, in Physical Match

Coming off its confidence-building win over Pitt, Virginia Tech traveled to Syracuse looking to add to its win column. A victory would help both teams’ ACC resumes. Virginia Tech came in with its prolific attacking tandem of Anna Weir and Eliana Salama, while Syracuse is known for having a difficult defense to break down.

The Hokies dominated possession in the first half, but too many attacks ended up being largely harmless. They frequently went down the right side, but, too often, the attacks fizzled in the corner or were served as crosses. However, there were few heads in the box that could get on the end of those crosses, and the Syracuse defense cleared any attempts. In fact, while Virginia Tech had a 10-2 shot advantage in the first half over Syracuse, few were actual shots on goal as the Syracuse goalie only had to make two saves.

Virginia Tech needed more balance and a more diverse attack. Very little was coming through the middle. In addition, the team seemed to rely more on Salama and Weir with not many players moving aggressively up field. Weir did have a great chance in the 39th minute when she received a ball in the box, but her shot was off target off the near post.

Syracuse, for its part, pressed whenever Virginia Tech recovered possession and was able to move the ball ahead into dangerous situations. However, time and time again, defenders like Elle Robertson, Madi Boutout, Bella Ganiere, and Celine Kampman shut down any threats, holding the Orange to only two shots. Goalkeeper Julianna Trujillo only had to make one save in the first half.

With the score knotted 0-0, Syracuse came out of the break on the front foot in the 20-30 minute window, pressuring the Hokie defense with eight shots, with more on goal.

The Hokies continued the overall trend of seemingly harmless attacks, with long direct passes that often went to Syracuse players. Other attacks found the ball in the corner against two defenders. Once again, Virginia Tech outshot an opponent (13-8 in the second half), but lacked quality chances. Salama threatened in the 79th minute when she found a deflected pass off a Syracuse defender, but her shot sailed just high.

With the end of the game bearing down on both teams where it appeared a tie was imminent, sophomore Hannah Pachan turned the game on its head. Salama got the ball on the middle from the left side and sent a pretty pass wide to Riley Karpinski. Karpinski dribbled from the right side into the box and passed across the face of the goal to a wide-open Pachan on the opposite side for a touch in and the 1-0 game-winning score.

Match Notes:

Hannah Pachan scored her second goal of the season.
Eliana Salama and Riley Karpinski both recorded an assist. Karpinski’s assist was the first of her career.
Eliana Salama is tied for 2nd in the ACC with six assists.
Julianna Trujillo made 4 save, including three in the second half, to preserve the shutout.
Elle Robertson, Madi Boutout, Celine Kampman, Gabby Ciocca, and Peyton May all played the full 90 minutes in a huge defensive effort.
Peyton May continues to do a great job distributing the ball through the middle.
After not recording a win in the ACC last season, the Hokies are 2-0.
Virginia Tech outshot Syracuse 23-10, with 6 shots on goal.
The physical game saw 9 Virginia Tech fouls to 13 for Syracuse, with 4 total yellow cards issued (2 per team).
The Hokies controlled the ball with 58% compared to 42% for Syracuse.

Virginia Tech continues its road warrior trek with a trip to NC State for a match on Sunday, September 27. The game is at 6:00 pm and will be streamed on ACCNx. The Wolfpack are 8-1-2 overall and 1-1-1 in the ACC. They lost to Miami after defeating SMU and tying #18 Florida State, 2-2.

Key Point: The assumption is that Anna Weir and Eliana Salama are Virginia Tech’s primary goal scorers. However, eleven different players have scored goal for Virginia Tech, with Weir (5), Gabby Ciocca (3), Riley Karpinski (3), Hannah Pachan (2), and Salama (2) all having more than one. The Hokie offense is more diverse than at first glance.

VOLLEYBALL LOSES TO SOUTH CAROLINA IN STRAIGHT SETS (10-25, 18-25, 18-25)

The Hokies traveled to Columbia, South Carolina on Friday, September 18 to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in their last non-conference matchup before ACC conference play starts. Virginia Tech was without team leader Reese Hazelton due to an injury suffered during practices. With Hazelton out, Paloma Zibiri and Sara Gasparini got more court time. Freshman center Courtney Burgess also played in two sets.

South Carolina jumped out to a quick 4-0 to start the first set before Virginia Tech’s Isabella Mishler and Destiny Walker responded with kills to pull the Hokies back to within three points at 5-2 and then again at 8-5. Unfortunately, the Gamecocks kept the pressure on the Hokies, building a 19-7 advantage before finishing out the first set, 20-10.

Once again, the Hokies had too many self-inflicted errors. They only had 5 kills in the first set, led by Mishler’s 3; however, the Hokies had 6 attack errors for a hitting percentage of -.030. Too many times, Virginia Tech players found themselves just getting the ball back over the net without any real threat to the Gamecocks. Unfortunately, for every instance where the Hokies could not mount a real attack or suffered from a service or receiving error, South Carolina seemed to make Virginia Tech pay with a kill. Indeed, South Carolina’s hitting percentage of .353 overwhelmed Tech. In fact, the Hokies did not have a single block in the first set.

The Hokies turned the match dynamics around in the second set, never trailing by more than 1-2 points through the 20-18 mark in the frame when a Mishler kill brought the Hokies within two points. MIshler had 5 more kills whereas Zubiri had 3 and Frances Torres contributed 2. In fact, Virginia Tech had more kills (13) than South Carolina (12), but too many attack errors once again hurt the Hokies. A service error and four straight attack errors, the last two on blocks by South Carolina, allowed the Gamecocks to claim the set, 25-18.

South Carolina jumped on top of the Hokies to start the third set, 3-0, before Walker and Zuburi kills pulled Virginia Tech to within 4-3. However, the Gamecocks responded with yet another run to extend their advantage to 8-2. Adeline Hundl, Layla Moore, Frances Torres, and Mishler all had kills to bring the Hokies within four points at 12-8. From there, South Carolina pulled away to win 25-18.

Not to sound like a broken record, but the team’s number of attack errors (23) and hitting percentage (.070) are not conducive to winning against quality opponents. Mishler led the team with 10 kills. Walker and Ivy Cooper were all over court defensively, to the tune of 22 receptions apiece. In addition, Cooper had 13 digs whereas Walker had 10. Unfortunately, Tech is not efficient enough to overcome mistakes, and it showed in the 3-0 outcome.

The Hokies start ACC conference play this coming Friday, September 25 when they travel to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech and then continue their road trip with a match against Clemson on Sunday, September 27.

WOMEN’S TENNIS TAKES ON THE FIELD IN NORTH CAROLINA AND KETUNCKY

The Virginia Tech women’s tennis program split their attention this past weekend between the IT All-American Championships in Cary, NC and the Kentucky Invite in Lexington, KY.

Sophomore Blair Gill participated in the IT All-American Championship, playing her first match as a Hokie after transferring this off-season from UVA. The ITA All-Americans is the first chance to qualify for the ITA Singles Championship.

Gill drew Elena Noguera from the University of Illinois in a Pre-Qualifying Round of 256 on Saturday. Gill defeated Noguero 6-4-2-6, 7-5 to advance where she faced UNC’s Theodora Rabnam, the 21st seed, in the Round of 128 on Sunday. Rabnam, an accomplished senior, achieved a single ranking high of 51 in 2025.and even reached the Round of 16 in the 2024 NCAA Singles Championship. Unfortunately, Gill fell 3-6, 3-6, allowing Rabnam to advance to the qualifying bracket of the tournament.

Other Hokies were in action at the Kentucky Invite in Kentucky, where they played a series of singles and doubles matches against Ball State, ETSU, and the host Wildcats. Note there is limited information about the results of the invitational.

On Friday, three Hokies lost singles matches. Laima Frosch lost in three sets after Ball State’s Gabby Barrera came back to win, 7-5, 2-6, 0-6. Her teammate Lamija Avdic lost a grueling, hard fought match to Ball State’s Priyanka Rana, 1-6, 7-6 (6), 3-6. Mary Sidelnyk fell in three sets 4-6, 6-4, 2-6 to ETSU’s Alessandra Caceres.

Maddie Rexroat came back on Saturday to defeat ETSU’s Ksenija Rage in a tough match, 4-6, 6-4, 7-3 (3).

On Sunday, Laima Frosch finished her weekend on a high note against ETSU’s Audelie Lesauvage when Lesauvage retired with Frosch up 6-3. Her teammate Alston Myatt unfortunately lost in two sets to ETSU’s Niyati Kukreti, 5-7, 3-6.

In doubles action, the pair of Laima Frosch and Mary Sidelnyk fell in matchups against two different ETSU teams. The team of Lamija Avdic and Maddie Rexroat lost a tightly contested match to ETSU’s Caceres and Lesauvage.

The team is potentially in action next at the ITA Regional Championships at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. Held from October 15-19, the championships, held from October 15-19, will feature players engaged in singles and doubles matches against teams from around the Atlantic region. Virginia Tech’s contingent and lineups will likely be determined closer to the event date.

WOMEN’S GOLF FINISHES FOURTH AT THE SCHOONER CLASSIC, WITH THREE PLAYERS FINISHING IN THE TOP TEN

After a strong showing at last week’s Nittany Lion Invitational, Virginia Tech’s women’s golf team traveled to Norman, Oklahoma to compete in the 70-par Schooner Fall Classic against a field that included several top programs.

Sophomore Xin Yao Wang led the Hokies over the weekend. She was tied for first place through the first two rounds with a 67-66 performance good for 7-under. Wang ended up being even in the final round and finished tied for fourth at 203 (67-66-70). She tallied 14 birdies for the tournament, tying for the third most in the field.

Senior Val Delon came from outside the top 10 after two rounds to fire a 65 in round three to move up sixteen spots and finish tied for sixth place at 6-under 204 (68-71-65). Her -5 performance in the third round was the second best in the field. She also was tied for 3rd for Par 4s.

Fellow senior Emily Matthews finished tied for 10th at 5-under 205 (70-69-66). Her -4 tally in was tied for the tenth best in the field and helped her move up twelve points. Matthews also was 5th in the leaderboard for Par 3s.

Senior Savannah Dupre finished tied for 59th with an 8 over 218 (72-72-74).

Freshman Racquel Walker gained great experience, finishing tied for 67th at 10-over (73-73-74).

Sophomore Everson Dever, playing as an independent, had a tough third round, which dropped her into a tie for 82nd place (72-73-80). However, she provided an amazing Hokie highlight by tying five other players for first place with an Eagle.

The overall performance by the Hokie contingent, including the trio who finished in the top 10, helped Virginia Tech finish 4th as a team. Sitting in a tie for fifth place at -3 after two rounds, the Hokies put together a 10-under 830 (277-278-275) to move ahead of TCU and pre-season #13 Oklahoma State.

The Hokies look to continue their strong start to the season when they compete in the Ally, hosted from October 5-7 by Mississippi State in West Point, Mississippi.

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY DOMINATES THE HOKIE INVITATIONAL WITH 7 HOKIES IN THE TOP TEN.

The Virginia Tech women’s cross-country teams returned to action this past Friday in the 6K Hokie Invitational in Blacksburg. The Hokie women faced a field consisting of runners from East Tennessee State, Washington and Lee, and Radford. In addition, runners from the Virginia Tech Club, UVA Club, James Madison XC/Track Club, and the Liberty University Running Club competed in the Invitational.

Virginia Tech once again dominated the Invitational, with five runners affiliated with Virginia Tech at the top of the podium and seven runners finishing in the top ten. As a team, the Hokies finished in 1st place with 17 points with an average time of 21:22.

Elizabeth Coe (21:06:80), Lydia Mikhin (21:08:40), and Kenza Elakar (21:14:50) finished 1-2-3.

Nicole Dunbury, a graduate student at Virginia Tech but running unattached, finished 4th with a time of 21:17:10.

Jeorgianna Gavalas finished in 5th with a time of 21:28:40 while Sharon Chepchirchir (21:51:90) and Lia Pugsley (21:57:00) finished 8th and 9th respectively to round out the top 10.

As she did the week before at the Virginia Tech Invitational, Washington and Lee’s Olivia Warren finished in the top 10, this time coming in 6th as she stayed with the lead group of Hokies throughout the race. ETSU’s Deena Ludtke and Mackenzie Armstrong and Radford’s Kayla Fields rounded out the top eleven.

The Virginia Tech Running Club represented themselves well at the event. Alexia Ladstaetter came in 12th place with a time of 22:50:20 with her teammates Ashley Mortensen (28th, 23:42:20), Marla Reid (35th, 24:41:10), and Katelyn Malanowski (36th, 25:09:90) rounding out the top 36. A group of runners led by Lily Cannuli (40th, 25:57.7) ran together to finish in the 40s and 50s. The Club’s overall performance was good for 5th place with an average time of 24:28, ahead of the University of Virginia’s club! See the link to the Virginia Tech Running Club.

The Hokies head next to Boone, North Carolina where they will participate in the Fire Tower Project hosted by Appalachian State on October 2.

SWIMMING AND DIVING RAMP FALL WITH THE HOKIE BELT CHALLENGE

The Hokies swimming and diving team opened up its fall season with its Hokie Belt Challenge, an intra-squad event held at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center. The Maroon team outpointed the Orange team, 114-111.

The team will officially begin its fall campaign Oct 2-3 with a Tri-Meet in Christiansburg against Liberty and Penn State. The meet starts at 5:00 pm on Friday with action resuming at 10:00 am on Saturday.

We will cover the current team and its performances in more detail for future events, but, in the meantime, check out the top times across all events from last year (2025-26) to get a feel for the swimmers.

SOFTBALL UPDATES ITS FALL SCHEDULE

The Softball program updated its fall ball schedule. The team kicks off its exhibition season against Radford on Saturday, October 3 at noon. The Highlanders visit Blacksburg on Friday, October 16 for a 5:00 game against the Hokies.

Virginia Tech will travel to Northern Virginia to take on George Mason on Saturday, October 24 at noon.

The Hokies will close out the fall season with intrasquad match-ups on October 30 and November 6 at 5:00 both nights.

LACROSSE RELEASES ITS FALL SCHEDULE

While the regular season for the Virginia Tech women’s lacrosse program starts in February 2026, the team is active this fall with practices and exhibition games. Head Coach Kristen Skiera released the 2026 lacrosse fall ball schedule with the Hokies traveling to Harrisonburg, VA Sunday, October 4, to take on JMU and VCU.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STARTS FALL PRACTICES AND PICKS UP A HUGE COMMITMENT

The Hokies’ basketball team has started fall practices in preparation for the season opener against NC Central on November 2. Keep an eye out for coverage of the ACC Tip Off between October 6-8. In addition, Sons of Saturday will have a season preview in October. If you have taken some of the program’s off-season dynamics, take a look at the Off-Season Update.

Recruiting: Speaking of updates, the Virginia Tech program received a huge commitment this Wednesday from 5’9 4-star guard Jazman Bailey from Mansfield, Texas. Bailey is the no. 41 ranked recruit in the 2027 class per ESPN. Rivals rated her the No. 33 player and No. 4 point guard in the class.

She won a gold medal with USA Basketball at the 2025 FIBA U16 Americup in Mexico and with the 2026 U17 FIBA World Cup in Czechia.

Bailey is the third top 100 recruit in Virginia Tech’s 2027 class, along with 5 '10 guard Dani Robinson (ESPN’s No. 38th recruit) and 6’ guard Lillie Graves (ESPN’s no. 60 recruit). She chose the Hokies over at least 30 other offers per her Instagram account. Notable schools include ACC schools like NC State, Louisville, Notre Dame, UNC, Clemson, Georgia Tech; SEC schools like Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Auburn, and Texas A&M; and Big 10 programs like Illinois, Wisconsin, Oregon, Penn State, and UCLA.

Michael Turner

Women's Sports Analyst

I have been a Hokie since 1985. I graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in international relations and received my Master’s in international relations as well, which included spending time in Romania, Russia, and Ukraine.