Men's Soccer: WVU Travels to Wilmington
September 10, 2009 10:43 AM | General
September 10, 2009
Match Notes | UNC Wilmington Live Stats Page
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| Moeryhan "Peabo" Doue |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men’s soccer team travels to Wilmington, N.C., today, for the UNC Wilmington Tournament on Friday, Sept. 11 and Sunday, Sept. 13. The Mountaineers will play tournament-host UNC Wilmington on the first day at 7:30 p.m. and Appalachian State at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
“I think both of these teams are very well coached,” coach Marlon LeBlanc says. “The proof that they are so well-coached is that, historically, they have had big games and big upsets against marquee teams. They are two dangerous opponents that we have to face on the road. Both will be well organized and champing at the bit to knock off a BIG EAST team. These are two games that we are not taking lightly by any means.”
The Mountaineers (1-1-0) are coming off a 1-0, double-overtime victory at home against Buffalo on Sept. 6. From only a couple of yards outside the six-yard box, freshman Moeryhan “Peabo” Doue laced a shot with his left foot past Bulls’ goalkeeper Nick Fetterman for the win. Freshmen Travis Pittman and Nathan Adams were credited with assists on the play.
Two days prior, WVU played its season-opening contest, the squad’s first game of the WVU/NIKE Classic, presented by Jerseys Subs, and dropped a 2-0 decision to then-No. 16-ranked UC-Santa Barbara. The largest crowd in men’s program history – 2,938 fans – piled into the stadium to watch the matchup.
“Soccer is not an easy sport to score goals. Certainly, even in the Santa Barbara game, we carried most of the play and most of the offense,” LeBlanc adds. “We were unfortunate not to get a goal. With that being said, the four games that we have played - Michigan, Virginia, Santa Barbara and Buffalo - we have played four very good teams and scored quite a few goals and created quite a few chances. This team is showing a lot more offensive prowess as far as what we want to do and how we want to go forward in numbers. As long as we keep doing that, we will score goals.”
UNC Wilmington, which holds a 2-1-0 overall mark, is led by Shawn Guderian who has scored three times this season. Most recently, Florida International defeated UNC Wilmington, 2-0, on Sept. 6. The Seahawks claimed wins over Florida Atlantic (2-0 on Sept. 4) and Campbell (3-1 on Sept. 1), which was UNC Wilmington’s season-opener.
The Seahawks are coached by Aidan Heaney, who has a 69-74-11 mark, entering his ninth season with the program. The squad returns 10 of its 11 starters, including Nassim Berhouni, who tallied six goals and two assists last season. Starting goalkeeper from 2008 Brock Duckworth also returns to the squad after posting a 9-6-1 mark and carrying a 1.12 goals-against average.
Appalachian State enters the tournament with a 1-2-0 overall mark, following its 2-0 loss at Liberty on Sept. 7. The Mountaineers exploded in their season opener on Sept. 1, blanking Emory and Henry, 10-0. Arie Muniz registered a hat trick, while Tyler Regan tallied two goals and three assists. Goalkeepers Collin Taylor and Drake Branson have combined for eight saves, while allowing five scores.
ASU, which entered the 2009 campaign with eight of its starters from a season ago, is under the guidance of Shaun Pendleton. Heading into his third year with the Mountaineers, Pendleton is 10-8-0. Top returnees include Muniz and Taylor, who were first-team league selections; Sean Dreybus and Mark Bridges, along with Taylor, were selected to the all-Southern Conference freshman team.
WVU is meeting UNC Wilmington and Appalachian State for the first time in program history.
