Men's Soccer: WVU Opens BIG EAST Play On The Road
September 20, 2007 01:48 PM | General
September 20, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 5/7 West Virginia University men’s soccer team (4-1-0) will open BIG EAST play this weekend when the Mountaineers travel to face St. John’s on Friday, Sept. 21, for an 8 p.m. kick off. WVU will then travel north to face Syracuse on Sunday, Sept. 23. Game time against the Orange is set for 1 p.m.
WVU fell to St. John’s 1-0 in overtime of the 2006 BIG EAST championship game last season. The Mountaineers are 2-7-2 all-time against the Red Storm dating back to 1995. The Red Storm recently fell to then-No. 6 Virginia in overtime on the road on Sept. 16. St. John’s is 2-3-1 on the season and has had eight different players tally at least one point and 16 different starters have been used. The Red Storm hold a 35-13 advantage in corner kicks and have outshot its opponents 62-56.
WVU has not faced the Orange since 2004 where the Mountaineers brought home a 1-0 win. SU, however, holds a 4-3-3 all time series record which dates back to 1995.
The Orange improved its record to 3-0-3 last week and is off to its best start since 1986 when the squad went 5-0-1. SU extended its overall unbeaten streak to seven games with a 1-1 double overtime draw at Albany on Sept. 12, and a 3-0 shutout against Fordham on Sept. 16.
The Orange have not lost a match since Oct. 18, 2006, when they fell to Rutgers. The streak is the longest under Head Coach Dean Foti and its longest shutout streak since 1990 when Syracuse posted nine consecutive shutouts.
WVU went 2-0 last week earning a home win against Duquesne on Sept. 10, before traveling to then-No. 5 Duke to earn a 1-0 victory on Sept. 15. The game against the Blue Devils was the Mountaineers’ second road win over a top 10 team and WVU’s fourth consecutive 1-0 win this season.
