Virginia Tech Powers Louisville for a 17-7 Win

The Hokies dominated the Cardinals at Thompson Field on Saturday with a 17-7 win. Freshman Ella Rishko scored seven goals to power the Hokies to the win, which ties the record for the highest single-game total by a Virginia Tech player since Paige Peety did so against William & Mary in 2020.

The Hokies had a slow start, with only a singular goal within the first 11 minutes of the game. Rishko scored with 3:55 minutes left in the quarter to start the scoring for the contest. Rachel Lifson of Louisville was quick to answer back to tie up the game. Rishko and Claire Schotta both scored again for the Hokies to end the first quarter with a 3-1 lead for Virginia Tech.

Virginia Tech came back for the second quarter hard, tallying six goals in total. Maura O’Malley and Caroline Little each scored one goal, and Hannah Mardiney and Ella Rishko both scored two during the second quarter. Louisville’s offense was able to produce two shots against Jocelyn Torres, but none of them prevailed. At the end of the first half, the Hokies led the Cardinals 9-1.

The Cardinals tried to bring the heat at the beginning of the second half, with Kokoro Nakazawa starting off the scoring, but O'Malley of the Hokies was quick to answer this goal. Lauren Figas and Alexa Steffens both scored shortly after, but Rishko responded with another goal, bringing the score to 11-4. The Cardinals then got into card trouble, with Maggie Foster, Ava Coyle, and Lauren Figas all receiving yellow cards, and Rachel Lifson receiving a green card. During the man-up advantage, Olivia Vergano, Mardiney, and Rishko all put goals on the board, with Paige Tyson following with another goal shortly after. At the end of the third quarter, the Hokies led the game 15-4.

Ella Rishko opened the last quarter of the game with another goal during the man-up advantage, but Negai Nakazawa of the Cardinals scored shortly after. Kayla Frank of the Hokies received a yellow card, but Louisville was not able to produce a goal during the man-up advantage, but Allegra Catalano scored shortly after with a quick response from Paige Tyson, ending the Hokies’ scoring for the game. During the last 45 seconds of the game, Izzy Seikel of the Cardinals scored the final goal of the game resulting in a 17-7 loss for Louisville.

The next matchup for the Hokies will be on Tuesday, April 11, at noon in Norfolk, Virginia against Old Dominion.