Mountaineers Advance
November 02, 2005 05:50 PM | General
November 2, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University men’s soccer team used a goal from Andy Wright in the 102nd minute of play to down Rutgers, 1-0, in the BIG EAST tournament first round on Wednesday, Nov. 2, at the Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
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| West Virginia's Andrew Wright uses his head on this second-half play against Rutgers in a Big East tournament first-round match. Wright also scored the winning goal in overtime.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
The Mountaineers (12-6-2, 6-4-1 BIG EAST) move on to face the No. 1 seed from the red division in No. 20-ranked South Florida. WVU and the Bulls will face off in the quarterfinal match on Saturday, Nov. 5, in Tampa, Fla., at 7:30 p.m.
“It’s the first time we have won a BIG EAST tournament game at home so it is a big game for us, but we have to wake up tomorrow and get ready for South Florida,” said head coach Mike Seabolt. “I was really proud of how our players responded in the match and took control in the second half.”
WVU dominated the match against the Scarlet Knights (8-8-3, 5-4-2 BIG EAST) statistically as it was able to get off seven shots on goal, compared to Rutgers’ one.
After a slow start, the Mountaineers opened the second half by controlling play yet they could not find the back of the net. During that time junior forward Jarrod Smith ripped his 64th shot to set the team record for shots in a season. The Havelock, New Zealand, native ended the match with five shots and 65 for the year.
Smith’s final shot of the match came in the 105th minute of play, forcing Rutgers goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel to make a save and preserve the scoreless tie.
The two-minute interlude between overtime periods proved to take longer than Mountaineers needed to break the tie in the final overtime period. Defender Pat Carroll took the ball down the right flank of the field and sent in a high cross that Wright was able to head past VanOekel at the 101:02 mark.
The goal marked the fourth of the season for Wright, a Liverpool, England, native and his third game winner. The assist for Carroll was the fifth of the season for him and his fourth in the last five games.
The 1-0 victory is the 11th shutout of the season for Nick Noble, who allowed no goals in 111 minutes of play and made one save. The shutout is the 25th for Noble in his career and moves him within three of the all-time shutout record held by John Capon (1978-81).
VanOekel recorded six saves for Rutgers.
Junior midfielder Sean Cameron led the Scarlet Knights in shots with four.
The win Wednesday is only the third against the Scarlet Knights in school history (3-12-2) and the second of the season.
The victory in the BIG EAST tournament against Rutgers is only the second time WVU has won a BIG EAST tournament game and the second consecutive season it has done so. Last season the Mountaineers knocked off No. 11 St. John’s 1-0 on Nov. 6, in Jamaica, N.Y.
The match on Saturday at South Florida will also serve as a homecoming for Seabolt as he coached at the University of Tampa from 2000-01, winning a Division II national championship with the Spartans in 2001.
