Beating the Big Boys
September 16, 2007 12:30 AM | General
September 16, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – When you open the WVU soccer media guide and start looking up the biggest victories in school history you will be hard-pressed to come up with any wins bigger than the ones this year’s team has had in a span of eight days.
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| Marlon LeBlanc has directed two of the biggest road victories in school history in a span of eight days.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
Last Friday night, West Virginia went on the road and knocked off No. 6-rated Maryland in overtime before an overflow crowd of more than 5,000. And Saturday night, Coach Marlon LeBlanc’s team did it again by blanking No. 5-rated Duke, 1-0, before another super-charged crowd of more than 4,000.
“When we talked about making our schedule we talked about these games being preparation (for a NCAA Final Four run) and this is just another step along the way,” said LeBlanc, now 19-4-3 at WVU. “We’ve got bigger plans then just beating Maryland and Duke on the road. But certainly these are two of the premiere teams in the ACC, no doubt about that.”
West Virginia (4-1) scored the game’s only goal when freshman Paul Paradise was able to knock in a ball that hit off the post. Duke in its post-game story posted on its web site termed the game’s only score a “fluke goal,” but LeBlanc says that was far from being an accurate characterization.
“It was a great goal. We got in behind them,” said West Virginia’s second-year coach. “Mike Anoia was streaking on to the end of it and he beat their keeper to the ball, took a shot around him and it hit the post. Paul Paradise came through and finished it.”
According to the official game statistics, Duke (3-2) had a 15-9 advantage in shots and a 9-0 edge in corner kicks. LeBlanc, however, says those stats are very misleading.
“They had one kid take a shot from the corner of the 18 that barely made it into the 18 because he hit it so badly. It hit the fence and it counts as a shot,” LeBlanc said. “It also depends who your scorer is. Look at the shots on goal -- it was four-three in our favor. That’s the one that you’ve got to look at.”
LeBlanc says conference pride carries over into soccer as well, and anytime a Big East team knocks off an ACC foe it carries a lot of weight throughout the league.
“Our coaches in the Big East are very proactive in wanting this conference to be the elite soccer conference in the country. The goal for the Big East in men’s soccer is to be national champions,” LeBlanc said. “It’s certainly looked upon when we step out on the field that we’re representing West Virginia first and foremost and then the Big East.
“The ACC is what everyone talks about as being the No. 1 soccer conference in the country and I think a lot of people would be hard-pressed to argue that point,” LeBlanc said. “They are very, very good but at least this West Virginia team has carried the mantle for the Big East against two excellent ACC programs and got wins.”
Despite the program’s second national-attention-getting result in a span of eight days, LeBlanc is encouraged by the fact that his team didn’t play its best soccer Saturday night in Durham.
“Our guys will be the first to admit that,” he admitted. “I think that says something about our team to not be at our best and still beat the No. 5 team in the country in front of 4,000 people.”
Through three weeks of play, West Virginia has knocked off Penn State, Duquesne, Maryland and Duke by identical 1-0 scores after falling in the season opener at Ohio State on a penalty kick. LeBlanc says the close, low-scoring games are a product of the teams the Mountaineers are playing.
“If you look at our results we’re going forward and attacking,” he said. “We’re getting chances to score and for one reason or another we’re only able to get one at the moment. Part of it is that we’re playing good teams. Three of our first five games were against teams currently ranked in the Top 15.
“From that standpoint I don’t think I need to get worried just yet because we are creating opportunities. If we weren’t creating opportunities I’d be worried,” LeBlanc said.
On the flip side, the Mountaineer defense has yet to allow a goal during regular play in five games so far this season.
“I think our strength is our defending. We’ve got three senior defenders in the backfield,” LeBlanc said. “(Goal keeper) Zach Johnson hasn’t had to do too much yet which is great.”
The No. 9-rated Mountaineers have little time to celebrate Saturday’s win having to get prepared for a road trip to defending Big East champion St. John’s on Friday night.
“They were the team that knocked us out in overtime with a second left on the clock in the Big East championship game last year,” LeBlanc said. “I don’t think I’m going to have a hard time motivating my guys for St. John’s on Friday night.”
