Looking to Dance
November 03, 2009 05:28 PM | General
November 3, 2009
Rutgers Match Notes
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| Marlon LeBlanc |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Blue Division No. 3 seed West Virginia men’s soccer team begins its postseason quest for a conference title as it faces Red Division No. 6 seed Rutgers on Wednesday evening at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
WVU held its own in the Blue Division throughout the year, earning a 7-4-6 record overall, including a 6-3-2 mark in conference play. The Mountaineers are coming off arguably their best offensive performance this season, registering a season-high 19 shots in a 2-0 victory over Seton Hall last Saturday.
Coach Marlon LeBlanc, who is looking to lead his team back to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year hiatus, believes his squad’s recent performance could eventually carry over to the conference championships.
“I guess if I had the magic potion, I'd use it every game,” LeBlanc said of his team’s offensive performance. “Our kids were fantastic against Seton Hall with our backs on the line. Hopefully the reaction now going forward is that we're going to play every game with our backs on the line. We had a number of guys step up, especially with the number of injuries that we have. There's a little bit of confidence growing on the team."
WVU’s season-long trademark has been its defense, where it is among the nation’s best. The Mountaineers are tied for seventh in goals against average (0.53 per game) and are eighth in shutout percentage (59 percent), reflecting their vast array of talent on the back line and in goal.
Avid soccer fans know about goalkeeper Zach Johnson, a three-year starter who owns 10 clean sheets and has racked up 62 saves in his junior campaign. But what opponents have to face now and in the future are a crop of heralded freshmen who have shouldered the offensive load.
"In a lot of different games, it's been a lot of different players,” LeBlanc said of his freshmen. “Shadow Sebele has scored some important goals and has been an important setup man for us all year long. Peabo Doue is starting to come into a zone now down the stretch. Uwem Etuk has played a lot of minutes for us as well.
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| Freshman Eric Schoenle has played every minute this season on the back line.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
“Travis Pittman has played a lot of minutes for us and is a staple in the midfield. Eric Schoenle has been fantastic at the center back position for us. He's played every minute of every game, and in my opinion, he's the best freshman in the Big East. He plays at center back, so he doesn't get a lot of notice for it.”
LeBlanc is confident that his group of freshmen, as well as his whole team, can make a deep run in this season’s tournament. If WVU is going to make an impact and reach the NCAAs, he knows that his newcomers will have to raise their game.
“With this group of freshmen, it was rated one of the best recruiting classes in America,” LeBlanc said. “I think they have proven that. We've had a pretty good year considering that we've started five freshmen on a regular basis. We've only been beaten four times over the course of the entire year and that speaks a lot to their resolve and it bodes well for our future. We're doing pretty well with a young team. Our hopes are that we can capitalize on what we've done so far, get ourselves into a position where we can compete for the NCAA Tournament, and hopefully make a run at the Big East Championship this year. Certainly, I think our future is very bright."
WVU and its skilled blend of youth and veterans take on a Scarlet Knights team that finished 5-6 in the Red Division. Rutgers is riding one of its best victories of the season, upsetting then- No. 9 USF, 2-1, in double-overtime in its last contest.
Although most teams face a repeat opponent come tournament time, the Mountaineers and Scarlet Knights did not square off in the regular season. LeBlanc believes that such a circumstance does not make it harder to scout Rutgers, equating it to his preparation for a non-conference opponent.
“I don't think it's too different from a non-conference opponent. We'll do our due diligence in terms of scouting and watching video, but there's certain things that we know about Rutgers that are always going to be a staple,” LeBlanc added. “I know without having seen them a whole lot during regular season, we certainly know what to expect as a coaching staff."
Up for grabs is a spot in the second round of the tournament, where the winner will meet Red Division No. 2 seed St. John’s on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. in Jamaica, N.Y. If WVU can get past the Red Storm, the Mountaineers would return to the friendly confines of Morgantown, where the semifinals and finals are taking place.
With a wide-open race for the conference title, anything can happen from now until the end of the tournament. Carrying arguably the top defense in the Big East, the Mountaineers are looking to exploit their upcoming challenges in postseason play.
“I think it’s very important for all the teams in the Big East this year,” LeBlanc said of the conference tournament. “There is no clear-cut favorite this year. To lose our best players and have a blip down the stretch -- two wins last week would have won us the regular season Big East championship. We know we’ve got work to do in order to improve our NCAA resume.
“Our goal is to win it all. Our goal is to get to Morgantown. If we are fortunate to beat Rutgers, we’ve got a very good St. John’s team waiting in the wings. For us it’s about taking each game one at a time and getting good results.”
