Georgia Battles the Heat in 0-0 Draw Against Virginia Tech

Sunday, September 2

Athens, Ga.

2:00 p.m.

University of Georgia

2-2-2

Virginia Tech

2-1-3

OT 5

OT 6

Virginia Tech

Georgia

Photo by: Kristin M. Bradshaw

Georgia Battles the Heat in 0-0 Draw Against Virginia Tech

September 02, 2018 | Soccer

Box Score

BOX SCORE

ATHENS, Ga. – The Georgia soccer team played to a 0-0 draw in double-overtime against the Virginia Tech Hokies at the Turner Soccer Complex on Sunday afternoon.

This marks the first time Georgia has played to a 0-0 draw since Billy Lesesne's first game as head coach of the Bulldogs on August 21, 2015 at High Point.

"I thought at least in the overtime periods that we were on the front foot," Lesesne said. "We were the team more likely to get a winner there. We pressured really hard towards the end and there were moments when they changed their shape in midfield and gave us some problems. It came down to our communication and we started communicating well, organizing the players in front of us and I thought once we started to do that the tide of the game turned. And again, we were pushing forward at the end, which I kind of liked to see the resolve of our team and battle in those tough situations."

The heat played a factor in the game as both teams made numerous substitutions from the bench to avoid fatigue and keep players hydrated.

Virginia Tech took twice as many shots as the Bulldogs in the first half, but Georgia was able to keep the scoreboard clean with two saves by goalkeeper Emory Wegener.

Coming back onto the field, Virginia Tech fired off two shots but neither found their way to the goal. With 28 minutes remaining, the Hokies again had an option to find the back of the net but sophomore defender Kayla Bruster shut down the attempt at the top of the box.

A Virginia Tech corner kick with less than 10 minutes remaining almost found its way into the goal. Wegener threw her body on top of the ball in order to keep the Hokies off the scoreboard. Sophomores Reagan Glisson and Katie Ralys had back-to-back tries on the net but the Hokie keeper blocked them both. Jessie Denny also gave a last minute attempt with 40 seconds remaining but the shot proved too high to make contact.

Each team put in a valiant effort through the heat but regulation proved not to be enough and the game went into overtime.

The first overtime transitioned into double overtime. In the first two minutes the Bulldogs aimed to head in the ball, but Virginia Tech's Heather Timothy blocked Ponzi and Bruster's attempts. The Bulldogs had a corner kick in the last minute and a header by Boyan just missed the goal solidifying the 0-0 draw.

The Bulldogs will face two in-state rivals next weekend, first hosting Georgia State at the Turner Soccer Complex on Friday, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. before making the trip to Kennesaw to face the Owls on Sunday, Sept. 9 at 6 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW GEORGIA SOCCER: For complete information on Georgia soccer, follow the team on its social media channels via @UGASoccer on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.