Men's Soccer: Welcomes Seton Hall
October 17, 2008 07:17 PM | General
By Ira Green for MSNsportsNET.com
October 17, 2008
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Coming off a 1-0 victory against No. 22 Ohio State, the West Virginia University men’s soccer team will play its second game of the week when it welcomes BIG EAST foe Seton Hall on Saturday, Oct. 18. Kickoff at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Saturday’s match is part of the 2008 Fall Family Weekend. Members of the WVU Parents Club will receive a coupon for one dollar admission into the Seton Hall match.
WVU (4-5-4, 2-2-3 BIG EAST) upset the Buckeyes on Wednesday night at home in front of 1,123 fans on WVPBS. Freshman Alex Silva, who scored the game-winning goal, has notched both career goals against ranked opponents (first came against then-No. 7 Connecticut). The Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, native is second on the team with five points (2g, 1a), behind sophomore Paul Paradise (six points), and third in shots (20).
Between the posts, sophomore Zach Johnson has continued his tremendous success from last year. The Lumberton, N.J., native has allowed only seven goals in 1,254 minutes of play and boasts a 0.50 goals-against average. Johnson also has made 59 stops, owns an .894 save percentage, and has seven clean sheets this season, a mark which ties him for fourth-most in the BIG EAST.
Seton Hall (6-6-2, 2-3-2 BE) sits one point behind WVU in the BIG EAST Blue Division. Head Coach Manny Schellscheidt is in his 21st season with the Pirates and owns a 221-143-40 all-time mark with the team.
In their last game, the Pirates fell to No. 4 St. John’s, 3-1, on Oct. 15. Seton Hall’s Carlos Salazar came off the bench to score the team’s lone goal at the 76:40 mark. Goalkeeper Paul McHenry made three saves in the loss.
Samuel Petrone leads the team on offense this year with a team-high nine goals, a total that ties him for first in the BIG EAST (Notre Dame’s Bright Dike also has nine scores). Petrone, who also has two assists this season, has taken 49 shots through 14 games. Seven other players on the team have tallied at least one goal this season.
Seton Hall’s McHenry has started 11 of the team’s 14 games between the posts, allowing 14 goals in 1,060 minutes of action. He has made 47 saves and owns a 1.19 GAA.
The Pirates returned eight starters from 2007, including last year’s league Rookie of the Year and a All-BIG EAST Third Team selection, Brayan Martinez.
The Mountaineers have won two of the last five meetings with the Pirates.
