HARRISONBURG, VA. – Virginia Tech (3-1) scored its first three goals in a nine minute span in the second half before tacking on a fourth later to send the Bonnies (0-4) home with a difficult 4-0 loss.

The first half was a defensive test for the Bonnies but freshman goalkeeper Ben Cowman was up to the task as Virginia Tech was able to get off 12 shots, six of which were on goal. SBU managed just five shots of its own. The score would go into halftime knotted 0-0. However, a red card for SBU junior defender Kolby Banker in the 20th minute forced the Bonnies to play with just ten men on the field for the remainder of the contest.

"Having to play a man down made it difficult to play with an aggressive mentality" said SBU head coach Mel Mahler. "Up till the red card it was an even match and we felt good about our chances to get our first win."  

The Bonnies survived being a man down for the early stages of the second half, but the scoring would get underway in the 59th minute when Daniel Lauretano of Va. Tech took a ball that was deflected off of a SBU defender and fired home the score from just inside the box for his first tally of the season.

SBU junior Kaine Moar managed two shots on goal but couldn't find the back of the net in this one. The second goal for the Hokies came eight minutes later when David Clemens received a cross from Ben Strong and connected on the two yard shot, placing it just inside the right post.  VT picked up their third goal less than a minute later when Drew Hartell deflected home the score from just two yards away.

A header by VT, Connor Pompilio, assisted by Mike Wilkie completed the scoring putting the Hokies on top 4-0. Zach Sullivan gave SBU a chance get in the scoring column when he connected on a header off a corner kick in the 85th minute that would be saved.

Mahler commented afterward: "We have to learn to overcome such obstacles (Banker's red card) and this weekend's results will test our character moving forward."

The Bonnies will be back in action in Oneonta, N.Y. next weekend as SBU will be in search of their first victory at the Mayor's Cup Invitational hosted by Hartwick College. SBU will take on Hartwick Friday evening (Sept. 7) at 5:30 p.m. before facing off with Big East foe Syracuse on Sunday (Sept. 9) at noon.

GAME NOTES: In addition to Banker's red card, the Bonnies received a team yellow card in the second half. The Bonnies are 0-4 for the first time since 2006 when they started the season with a 0-9-2 record. SBU has allowed 15 goals in its first four contests in 2012. That is the most goals allowed by a SBU team in the opening four games since 1994 when the Bonnies gave up 20.