Mount St. Mary's shut out Virginia Tech on the road this past weekend, taking the Hokies down 35-0.

The match kicked off in hot conditions. The Mount started the game off quickly with a try by Angelo Gurcsik five minutes in. The forwards provided a strong scrum platform for the backs to work the ball through the ends to release the senior wing Gurcsik on the edge.

Most of the first half was spent between the 10-meter lines as the Mount utilized a strong defensive effort and kicking opportunities to keep Virginia Tech at bay. Senior flanker Brendan McCarthy created a turnover with a strong poach on the Mount’s own 10-meter line with ten minutes to play.

Three Big Shutouts in Normally Tight Chesapeake

This momentum swing allowed the Mount to sustain some pressure inside the Tech zone before freshman center Evan Corbett slotted a 34-meter penalty kick from the center of the pitch. Corbett would add his second penalty five minutes later to put the Mount ahead 13-0.  After the score, the Mount was back on the front foot as junior scrumhalf Axel Arias smashed a box kick to give the Mount possession deep inside Virginia Tech territory utilizing the new 50-22 kicking rule.

The Mount sustained strong pressure inside Tech's 22 for the last few minutes of the half but were unable to score further and the Hokies' defense held.

Virginia Tech came out swinging in the second half and immediately put pressure on the Mount defense for a about eight minutes. Mount wing Alex Hedge relieved the pressure by stepping in front of a Tech pass and racing nearly 80 meters for the try.Corbett slotted the conversion to put the Mount ahead 20-0. 

Virginia Tech would not quit and put more pressure on the Mount defense following the restart. But freshman flyhalf James Blair booted a nice clearance kick and flipped the field to turn Tech away again. The Mount attack was able to maintain possession and Corbett slotted his third penalty goal from about 35 meters out to put the Mount up 23-0. Comfortable ahead, Mount St. Mary's then looked to get that fourth try for the bonus point. It remained a tall order as Tech kept defending hard, but eventually the Mount pack could drive a scrum over the line to make it 28-0. With time winding down freshman Hunter Hertzog punished a turnover for one more try.