Virginia Tech Men's Soccer Unable to Rally Late Against No. 3 Stanford

The Hokies have now gone five straight matches without picking up a win.

Keeper Sam Joseph makes the save for the Hokies against No. 3 Stanford. | Virginia Tech Athletics.

On Sunday, Virginia Tech men's soccer ventured across the country to take on the No. 3 Stanford Cardinal in a late-night showdown. The Cardinal bested the Hokies, 3-1.

In Tech's (2-2-3, 0-2-1 ACC) opening match of the season, it upset the then-No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes, a tightly contested 1-0 victory that saw freshman forward Colin Beutel score the winning goal in the first half.

Since their win over Canisius, the Hokies entered Sunday's matchup winless in their last 4 contests. With three successive ties and a conference loss to Boston College, Tech needed another statement victory over a ranked opponent in Stanford (7-1-1, 2-1-0) to return to early-season form.

The Cardinal held firm possession to open the contest, forcing its way into the Hokies' half for nearly the entirety of the first 15 minutes of play. Four shots, all from four different attackers, mixed with three corner kicks, kept the Hokies' defense both weary and engaged. Tech looked to rebound from the missed opportunities Stanford was giving them, but the counterattacks were stalling out near midfield.

Even with the pressure from the Cardinal, the Hokies' attack was the first to get a shot on goal. Tech midfielder Alex Perez drew a foul at the 22-minute mark; just 30 seconds later, that gave Beutel the look to finish and strike first in Palo Alto. However, Stanford's keeper Rowan Schnebly made the save to keep the game deadlocked at zero.

A quick turnaround up the field for Stanford pressured the Hokies' defense, similarly to the opening minutes of the contest. California native Shane de Flores was tabbed with the first shot on goal for the Cardinal, but Hokie senior Sam Joseph in the net evened out the save count to keep both teams scoreless.

Stanford, remaining unsatisfied with all the squandered opportunities, remained aggressive in looking for a score before halftime. In the 34th minute, defender Takashi Sasaki started a break, sending the ball down near the Hokies' box. Senior Zach Bohane found control of the ball and set up midfielder Jack Pymm to finish the well-executed pass for the opening goal and put Stanford ahead, 1-0.

With time dwindling down in the first half, Tech searched an equalizer heading into the locker room. A close look from junior Yanis Belatrache was saved — but not corralled — by Schnebly, allowing another quick look six seconds later. The shot came from Dagur Traustason, who couldn't find the back of the net, bringing the Hokies to halftime trailing one goal.

The Cardinal possessed clear control exiting half and were visibly aggressive in their attempt to find an insurance goal. Stanford forced a corner kick and capitalized at the 48-minute mark; assisted by Joshua Partal, Bohane paired his earlier assist with a goal of his own.

Even wit h a two-goal lead in the second half, the Cardinal weren't satisfied and looked to extend further. Bohane and senior midfielder Fletcher Bank both put ripping shots on goal within two minutes of each other, neither forcing Joseph to extend far from his set position being able to make the save.

Following the back-to-back saves, Tech returned to a position of attack in the 57th minute, a stance that it would retain before a hopeful corner kick opportunity came to fruition in the 62-minute to bring the Hokies within one. Perez, Tech's leading goal scorer, was credited with the goal from the corner after the header was deflected off Stanford defender Dylan Hooper.

that's our leading goal scorer 👏 pic.twitter.com/0mKUyabvFW

— Virginia Tech Men’s Soccer (@HokiesMSoccer) September 22, 2025

With the lead now cut to a single goal, the Hokies had chipped away at the Cardinal lead slightly and were now in a position to chase an equalizer once more. However, the attacking prowess from the Hokies had dwindled, with Stanford retaining the brunt of the possession for the next 20 minutes, following Perez's goal.

Corner kick opportunities were successful for both squads throughout the entirety of the matchup. The Hokies were unable to escape the corner pin that the Cardinal had accrued; three corner kicks in two minutes set up Bank to thread a goal in between a battered Tech defense for the contest's final goal, 3-1.

The one bright side to the unrelenting pressure from Stanford was that it allowed for additional defensive experience, especially from Joseph. Joseph picked up a season high of four saves against the Cardinal.

The Hokies, now having gone five straight matches without a victory, look to return to the win column on September 29, against ETSU, in Johnson City, Tennessee at 7 p.m. The contest will be available for viewing on ESPN+.