Men's Soccer: WVU Faces Providence
October 27, 2009 02:16 PM | General
October 27, 2009
Providence Match Notes
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men’s soccer team will face Providence on Wednesday, Oct. 28, in the Mountaineers’ final regular-season home contest of the season. Kickoff on “Senior Night” is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
The contest also has been designated as “Dollar Night,” with all tickets and select concessions available for purchase for just one dollar. Admission to the match is free for WVU students with a valid student ID.
Prior to the start of the match, WVU will honor four student-athletes – Jason Bristol, Ryan Gillespie, Gift Maworere and Kyle West.
WVU enters Wednesday with a 6-3-6 overall mark, including a 5-2-2 record in BIG EAST play.
The Mountaineers lost their last time out, falling 2-1 on Oct. 24 at home against Georgetown. Freshman Uwem Etuk scored in the 26th minute to give WVU a 1-0 lead, and the Mountaineers held the advantage until late in the game when Georgetown tallied two scores in the final 15 minutes of the match. The Mountaineers outshot Georgetown, 13-9, and held a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Sophomore Alex Silva leads the team with three goals, while Etuk is right behind with two goals. Freshman Abel “Shadow” Sebele is tied for the team lead in points (7) after earning his team-leading fifth assist on Etuk’s goal against Georgetown. Sebele also ranks first on the team in shots (35) and shots on-goal (11).
As a team, the Mountaineers are holding opponents to less than 10 shots per contest and a miniscule 0.061 shot percentage. Opposing teams have managed to score just nine goals on WVU – a 0.60 goals per game average – and the Mountaineers are holding a 90-74 corner kicks advantage.
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Zach Johnson has started all 15 contests, owning a 0.54 goals-against average in 1,494 minutes, and making 56 saves. His goals-against average clip ranks 11th-best nationally, while his 0.862 save percentage is 16th best in the nation. Johnson also owns nine clean sheets this season.
Providence comes to Morgantown with a 6-6-3 overall record, including a 3-4-2 mark in the BIG EAST.
In their last game, the Friars defeated Marquette, 1-0, on Oct. 24 at home. Matt Marcin scored the lone goal of the contest in the 55th minute and Daniel Fabian earned an assist on the play. Marcin had a game-high four shots in the victory. PC outshot Marquette, 12-9, and finished even in corner kicks, 3-3. PC goalkeeper Timothy Murray made three saves for the shutout.
Offensively, Marcin and Timothy Ritter pace the team with three goals apiece. Marcin holds the team lead in points (7), shots (39) and shots on-goal (15). Outside of Marcin and Ritter, five other Friars have scored this season.
Collectively, Providence is outshooting its opponents, 199-171, and has a 65-49 corner kicks advantage. Opponents are averaging one goal and 11 shots per game against Providence, and have taken 71 shots on-goal.
Three different goalkeepers have seen action this year for Providence, but Murray has played the majority of the time. He has played in 14 contests, allowing 14 goals, while making 52 saves. He owns a 0.95 goals-against average mark and has seven shutouts.
Providence is under the guidance of 10th-year coach Chaka Daley, who owns a 62-96-23 record with the program. Last year, the Friars finished with a 9-7-3 overall mark, including a 5-5-1 record in league play. The team fell in the BIG EAST quarterfinals to St. John’s (N.Y.). From that squad, nine starters returned to the 2009 team.
