BLACKSBURG, Va. – The closest game in the history of their 13-year series came down to the final seconds but went in favor of No. 17 Virginia Tech, 1-0, as the Hokies outlasted Longwood Tuesday evening at Thompson Field.
 
Earning their third consecutive shutout, the Hokies (8-1) propped themselves up on a 16th-minute game-winner from Michelle Tiernan and protected that lead by holding Longwood to just two shots over the 90-minute battle. The last of those came off the foot of breakout sophomore midfielder Kathryn Miller with just 15 seconds left on the clock, but failed to make it through a clogged mob of Hokies in front of the net.
 
The final buzzer made the first-half breakaway goal by Tiernan stand as the game-winner, propelling the eight-win Hokies closer to their eighth straight 10-win season and eighth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. It also improved Virginia Tech to 4-0 at Thompson Field and continued a trend of the Hokies' defensive dominance at home, now having allowed just one goal in four games in Blacksburg.
 
Tuesday's one-goal loss, however, was the closest game in the 13-year series between Longwood (2-6-0) and Virginia Tech, which the Hokies lead 7-0 all-time. The narrow loss defeat last season's 4-2 Virginia Tech win on Sept. 2, 2015, in which the Lancers stayed deadlocked 2-2 until the 87th minute.
 
"We held one of the elite teams in the country to one goal on their home field. That was one of the most committed and disciplined defensive performances our program has ever put forth," said Longwood head coach Todd Dyer.
 
That's high praise coming from the Longwood alumnus who not only founded the program, but has been at the helm for all 419 games since Lancer women's soccer was born in 1994 and has won nearly 60 percent of those.
 
In holding Virginia Tech to its fewest goals at Thompson Field since No. 1 Florida State issued them a 0-0 shutout on Oct. 22, 2015, the Lancers continued to display a defensive brand of soccer that has emerged over the past three games. Longwood has turned a corner during that span, allowing just 0.7 goals per game in those three contests compared to 2.0 per game in five games prior.
 
Key to that pivot has been the chemistry of defensive trio Jayden Metzger, Jessica O'Bryant and Sydney Wallace, which has started every game together in the backfield. That trio withstood 25 Virginia Tech shots Tuesday but allowed fewer than half of them on goal.
 
Behind them was the last line of Longwood's defense, junior goalkeeper Maria Kirby who lived up to that name by matching Longwood's Division I saves record for the third time in her career with 11 saves on 12 Hokie shots on goal. That performance was her second 11-save night of the season and equaled the 11 saves she made in a 1-0 win against Richmond last season and the original 11-save mark set by Marcia Biddle against Radford on Oct. 2, 2008.
 
The Lancers could not carry that momentum across midfield, however, and went 73 straight minutes without putting an attempt on Virginia Tech's goal.
 
"To keep things in perspective, we did lose a soccer game and are motivated to come out and do better next time," Dyer said.
 
Tuesday's loss brings to a close a lengthy road stretch for the Lancers, who have played five of their past six games away from home. They will return to the confines of the Longwood Athletics Complex this Sunday in their final non-conference game against Saint Francis at 2 p.m., which precedes the Big South opener against Gardner-Webb the following Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
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