Virgina Tech Women's Soccer Settle for a Pair of 2-2 Ties Against Liberty and Maryland

VIRGINIA TECH COMES FROM BEHIND TWICE IN A 2-2 TIE WITH LIBERTY

Last year’s Conference USA champions, the Liberty Flames traveled over to Blacksburg to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies in a Thursday night in-state matchup. Virginia Tech was coming off the 6-0 domination of VMI whereas Liberty had lost a narrow 0-2 match up with UVA.

After an initial Liberty foray into Virginia Tech territory to start the game, the Hokies took over and controlled possession for most of the first five minutes.. They were seemingly everywhere, fighting to win loose balls that resulted in a relatively harmless cross across the front of goal.

Liberty got its turn to control possession, aided by some unforced turnovers on passes by Virginia Tech that allowed the Flames to counterattack. A shot attempt on goal deflected off a Hokie leading to a corner kick for Liberty eight minutes in. The kick was sent to the opposite side of the box and was met by Liberty’s Isabella Wedemeyer, who headed the ball back against the grain out of the reach of Hokie goalie Juliana Trujillo to give Liberty an early 1-0 lead.

The teams traded back-and-forth possession for much of the remainder of the first half. Virginia Tech had an opportunity from distance that the Liberty goalie corralled easily. Liberty had a free kick from just outside the box that deflected off the Hokie wall.

Then, at the 33rd minute mark, Virginia Tech’s Peyton May gained possession and played the ball wide to Ellie Robertsont at right sideline.  Robertson moved inside and passed the ball to Eliana Salama. She gathered the ball near the top of the box and sliced a pass inside to a cutting Lili Lubic, who fired the ball past the goalkeeper into the net to draw level at 1-1. The goal was Lubic’s first of the season.

The Hokies almost took the lead minutes later when a Salama strike went off the crossbar and the followup on the rebound could not reach the net. A lapse at the 42:25 minute hurt Virginia Tech. Liberty’s Margaret Garner got the ball near mid-field and advanced unimpeded with the ball until she took a shot from inside the box for the score to give Liberty the 2-1 lead. In a Hokie defensive breakdown, Garner froze and moved past a defender and was not stopped as she found an angle past Trujillo.

The Hokies came aggressive to start the second half, immediately attacking the Liberty side of the field. Hard work by Tech’s Julia Tepes against two defenders won the ball for the Hokies. The combination of Lubic, Tepes, and Salama worked the ball on the right side for several possessions, with Salama having multiple opportunities to possibly get on goal to no avail. Defensive pressure kept the Hokies in possession for much of the first ten minutes of the second half. They were rewarded with a free kick off a foul to the left side, but the kick sailed too high. 

Virginia Tech’s effort was rewarded when Hannah Panchan was fouled from behind just outside the box, drawing a yellow card on the Liberty defender. Salama’ free kick hit the goalie Ainsley Leja in the hands as she went to ground; however, Leja could not control the ball, allowing Hokie Anna Weir to crash in and put the rebound into the net and tie the match up 2-2.

Liberty had a chance to get the go-ahead game with minutes remaining in the game, but several Flames players crashed into Virginia Tech goalkeeper Trujillo trying to push a rebound into goal. The match ended with the 2-2 tie.

Match Notes:

• Virginia Tech and Liberty have played to a tie for two straight seasons. Virginia Tech’s overall record against Liberty is now 11-2-2.
• Lili Lubic scored her first goal of the season. Including her time at Delaware, it was her sixth career goal.
• Anna Weir scored her second goal of the season.
• Eliana Salama delivered her second assist of the year, setting up Lubic’s goal in the first half.
• Goalkeeper Julianna Trujillo made three saves.
• Gabby Ciocca and Julia Tepes earned their first starts with both playing 64 and 63 minutes respectively.
• Anna Garrow made her first appearance in a match this year, playing 30 minutes.
• Liberty out-shot Virginia Tech 16-13; it was the first time Virginia Tech was outshot this season.

YOUTUBE - FULL LIBERTY MATCH REPLAY

A TALE OF TWO HALVES AS VIRGINIA TECH AND MARYLAND FINISH IN 2-2 TIE

Virginia Tech welcomed Big Ten foe University of Maryland to Blacksburg on Sunday, August 23 for an opportunity for a Power 4 win.

Virginia Tech started on the front foot, aggressively pressuring the Maryland goalkeeper throughout the first half, forcing her to make several saves. In fact, the Hokies had nine shots in the first half. Unfortunately, the Hokies kept coming close but could not finish their opportunities.

At the 28 minute mark, a ball was sent long that Anna Weir ran under with the goalkeeper closing on her. Weir punched the ball past the goalkeeper and had to race after the ball to take advantage of the open goal. Unfortunately, Maryland’s Dani Gischner chased Weir down from behind, and Weir could not finish due to a bad angle.

However, Weir’s effort would be rewarded as the play earned a corner kick for the Hokies. Hannah Pacham delivered the corner in front of goal where Peyton May got her body on the ball and knocked it past the goalkeeper to give Virginia Tech the 1-0 lead.

Four minutes later, Virginia Tech almost struck again on another corner, but Celinne Kampmann’s header went just wide of the net.

Lily Pantaleo and Riley Karpinski subbed in at the 41 minute mark, and the move proved opportune for the Hokies. With three minutes to go in the half, Pantaleo  found space down the middle of the field and, just as she approached the box, laid a pass to her right to Karpinski. The freshman took a touch and then knocked in her second goal of her career.  Their connection gave Virginia Tech a 2-0 lead and momentum going into the second half. 

Maryland was able to turn it around in the second half. The Terrapins broke through in the 65th minute when Maryland’s Abigail Stager received a long pass and pushed ahead. Virginia Tech’s Kampmann stumbled but recovered. Stager was still able to put the ball toward the goal. The shot was deflected off Julia Tepes;however, Maryland’s Jolie Farmer stayed with the attack and finished past goalkeeper Julianna Trujillo to bring the Terrapins within 2-1.

Six minutes later, Maryland moved the ball through midfield to the top of the 18-yard box where Ella Petry hammered a shot past Trujillo to tie the match up, 2-2.

Virginia Tech continued to pressure Maryland and, indeed, outshot the Terrapins 16-6 in the second half. Eliana Salama had 13 shots for the game herself. However, the Hokies could not get anything into the net.

The Hokies had two fabulous opportunities in the final minute to take the win.With slightly over a minute left, a Hokie moved the ball down the sideline with the ball, turned the corner, drew two defenders, and slipped a pass up top to Salama.  With a defender in her hip pocket, Salama tried to slice the ball toward the net only to see it just miss wide. 

Then with 3 seconds left in the game, Virginia Tech drew a penalty just outside the box. Salama pushed a ball that went over the Maryland wall and was headed toward the top corner of the goal. However, Maryland goalkeeper Faith Luckey pushed the ball over the bar to save the 2-2 tie for Maryland. 

Match Notes:

• Peyton May scored her first career goal on the corner kick to put Virginia Tech on the board first.
• Freshman Riley Karpinski scored her second career goal.
• Hannah Pachan and Lily Pantaleo recorded assists in the game.

YOUTUBE - MARYLAND MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

NEXT UP:

Virginia Tech travels to Williamsburg, Virginia this Thursday, August 27 to take on William & Mary. The game will start at 6:00 pm.

William & Mary is sporting an 0-1-1 record and is coming off a 1-1 tie with Longwood and a narrow 2-3 loss to Army. William & Mary outshot the Black Knights, 18-9, and had a 10-6 advantage in shots on goal. The Tribe also had 9 corner kicks to Army’s 2. However, William & Mary could not convert the advantage in numbers to goals.

Last year, the 20th ranked Virginia Tech and Wiliam & Mary played to a 3-3 tie. After leading 1-0 at half-time, Virginia Tech found itself in a back-and-forth second half in which defensive miscues led to three William & Mary goals. The Hokies will look to carry its unbeaten streak into hostile territory and see their aggressive play result in a win.

Virginia Tech will then travel to Washington, DC to take on 14th ranked Georgetown University on Sunday, August 30 at 1:00. The Hoyas are currently 1-1-1. They defeated Fordham, 4-1, to start the season and then lost to No. 1 Stanford, 0-2. Georgetown will face Virginia Tech after earning a 0-0 tie against St. Marys (California). The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

RANDOM THOUGHTS THIS WEEK:

Shots to Goals - Not Ruthless Enough

The Hokies did a lot of nice things: they dominated possession,  moved the ball, and generated shot opportunities.  Overall, Virginia Tech had 25 shots against Maryland, but only two goals to show for their efforts for an 8.0% conversion rate. The inability to cash in on those moments and put the game away, combined with some defensive miscues, stymied an opportunity for a momentum-gaining win.

Coach Adair essentially pointed to this dynamic and said, “We need to be ruthless in the final third and stop being so cute around goal. Hopefully, we can get out shot-to-goal ratio to improve. That was one of our goals this season."

For the season, the Hokies have 12 goals on 96 shots for a 12.5% finishing rate. While this may not seem efficient at first glance, 12.5% is a rate considered average in women’s college softball. By comparison, the 2025 version of the Hokies scored 31 goals on 232 shots for a 13.4% clip. 

Eliana Salama leads the team with 31 shots but only has 1 goal for a 3.2% shot percentage.  The next closest shot taker is Anna Weir with 16 shots. (12.5% shot percentage). Coming back from injury, Salama is being counted on to generate offense for this young team. As she gets her footing and regains her form, those chances will hopefully find themselves in the back of the net.

When it comes to the Shots on Goal statistic, the Hokies have 38 shots on goal for 9.5 average per game and a .396 score (39.6%).  Salama, for her part, has 9 shots on goal and a .290 mark.

The Hokies averaged 1.72 goals per game for the 2025 season, but averaged 2.57 goals against non-ACC opponents. As of the Maryland game, the 2026 Hokies are averaging 3.0 goals against their non-ACC competition. Between now and ACC play, the Hokies have to improve their shot-to-goal ratio.

Improvement Against Same Opponents:
Another comparison between 2025 and 2026 can be viewed from the lens of Virginia Tech’s performance against the same opponents:

• In 2025, Virginia Tech tied Liberty 1-1 / This year, the game ended in a 2-2 tie
• Last year, Virginia Tech lost to ODU, 1-2 / This year, the Hokies won 2-1, so the 2026 version of the Hokies flipped that result.
• Last year, The Hokies tied William and Mary, 3-3 / Virginia Tech plays William and Mary next

The ODU game represents a nice turnaround. Liberty has won Conference USA two of the last three years, so the Flames represent a challenge. The result against William and Mary will be another step to showing that Virginia Tech has improved since last season.

The Players:

Through the first four games, nine players have started every game with eleven players averaging 60 or more minutes per game. Transfer Julianna Trujillo has seized the starting goalkeeper position.  Senior Anna Weir has been a dynamic engine whereas Eliana Salama has been the constant threat in the box. Junior Gabby Ciocca is making her presence felt. Freshmen Celine Kampmann and Johannah Bradley have been mainstays on the field, with Kampmann earning the four most minutes on the team and Riley Karpinski showing flashes. However, the core of the team are the sophomores - Peyton May, Hannah Pachlan, Ellie Robertson, Madi Boutot, Lilli Lubic, Julia Tepes, and Letizia Rossi. The Hokies fortunes both this season and the future will ride on their development.

PLAYER STATS

Leader Board:

Points:

• Anna Weir - 6 pts
• Hannah Pachan - 4 pts
• Eliana Salama - 4 pt
• Riley Karpinski - 4 pts

Goals

• Anna Weir - 2 Goals
• Riley Karpinski - 2 Goals
• Eliana Salama - 1 Goal
• Peyton May - 1 Goal
• Hannah Pachan - 1 Goal
• Ellie Robertson - 1 Goal
• Gabby Ciocca - 1 Goal
• Letizia Rossi - 1 Goal
• Lilli Lubic - 1 Goal
• Johannah Bradley - 1 Goal

Assists

• Anna Weir - 2 Assists
• Hannah Pachan - 2 Assists
• Eliana Salama - 2 Assists

Shots

• Eliana Salama - 31
• Anna Weir - 16
• Peyton May - 5
• Hannah Pachan - 4
• Ellie Robertson - 4

Shots on Goal / Percentage

• Eliana Salama - 9 / .290
• Anna Weir - 5 / .313
• Peyton May - 3 / .600
• Hannah Pachan - 3 / .750
• Gabby Ciocca - 3 / .600
• Lilli Lubic - 3 / .500