Men's Soccer: WVU Stuns No. 11 St. John's
November 06, 2004 11:20 PM | General
November 6, 2004
JAMAICA, N.Y. - The West Virginia University men’s soccer team upset No. 11 St. John’s 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST tournament Saturday, Nov. 6, in Jamaica, N.Y.
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| West Virginia goal keeper Nick Noble makes a diving save during Saturday's 1-0 upset victory at St. John's.
St. John's photo |
“We’re proud of all of our young men on the team for believing that this could happen and getting the win tonight,” said head coach Mike Seabolt. “It’s a great first step for our team as we continue to get better.”
The win marked the first time that WVU has ever advanced past the first round of the BIG EAST tournament and the first time it has won a post-season match since 1992. That was also the last year the team advanced to the NCAA tournament.
The Mountaineers (12-6-1, 6-4-1) and Red Storm (10-5-4, 6-1-3) played to a scoreless first half with both teams having four shots on the other’s defense.
Freshman forward Jarrod Evans got WVU’s first chance at a goal when he collected a loose ball at the top of the penalty box in the first minute and drilled it just wide left of the goal.
Sophomore goalkeeper Nick Noble was tested just over a minute and a half into the match after he failed to punch a ball out of the penalty box, leaving the opportunity for a St. John’s forward to take shot on goal. Noble was up to the task, making the save and clearing the ball from danger.
Later, the Red Storm got a pair of very good scoring chances beginning with 10:21 left in the half when senior midfielder Matt Groenwald found himself open and ripped a very hard shot toward the goal, however senior defender Rusty Girton was close enough to block the shot before it reached Noble.
With 8:36 left SJU’s Jeff Carroll got into the action when he ripped a shot at the top of the box that sailed just over the upper right corner of the goal.
Just before the half the Mountaineers got their best chance of the half when Devon McTavish took a shot from 25 yards out that forced goalkeeper Bill Gaudette to make a diving save to his left side.
After the halftime break St. John’s came out testing the WVU back line as hard as it had been tested all season.
With 11:30 into the second half, junior forward Sebastian Alvarado-Ralph headed a ball very hard at the net. Noble made a brilliant save to his right, knocking the ball back out into the box. Jeff Carroll hit the rebound hard off the side of the net for a Mountaineer goal kick.
With 34:16 minutes left, Andy Wright picked up a cleared ball and took his first shot of the match from 30 yards out that forced Gaudette to make a lunging save to his left.
The Mountaineers finally got on the board in the 75th minute when freshman Dan Stratford found Devon McTavish just outside of the penalty box. McTavish chipped in a shot to the upper left corner of the goal just out of the reach of Gaudette, who was outstretched on his side in the air as far as his arm could reach.
As the Mountaineers dropped back to a more defensive strategy after the goal, St. John’s picked up on its offensive pressure.
With six minutes remaining in regulation, Groenwald got a shot over the head of Noble that appeared to be on its way to tying the match, however the ball found the crossbar and was cleared from danger.
As the clock wound down, the Red Storm kept fighting for more goal opportunities, but to no avail as the night belonged to WVU. The defense refused to crack despite a flurry of shots from St. John’s as the clock hit zero.
Seabolt praised the whole defense for the Mountaineers third consecutive shutout.
“Noble had a great night but I credit the whole defense for their effort throughout the game,” said Seabolt.
Noble recorded four saves on the evening, all of them coming on diving stops. Gaudette recorded two in the losing effort. West Virgiia has now extended its streak to seven straight matches without a loss (WVU tied Rutgers on Oct. 30).
WVU will find out tomorrow who it will play in the Big East semifinals. The Mountaineers will play the winner of the UConn-Boston College game that will be played on Sunday, Nov. 7, at 1 p.m. in Boston, Mass.
Game Summary:
WVU-1; SJU-0
Scoring: WVU- Devon McTavish (74:44), Dan Stratford
Shots on Goal: WVU-7 ; SJU-15
Corners: WVU-3 ; SJU-6
Fouls: WVU-11 ; SJU-6
Goalkeeping: WVU- Nick Noble, 0 GA, 4 saves, 90:00 minutes; SJU- Bill Gaudette, 1 GA, 2 saves, 90:00 minutes
