WVU Welcomes No. 16 UCSB
September 03, 2009 02:27 PM | General
September 3, 2009
Match Notes
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| Gift Maworere is one of three seniors on this year's squad.
Courtesy of Allison Toffle |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – To open the 2009 campaign, the West Virginia University men’s soccer team will play host to 2006 national champion and No. 16-ranked UC-Santa Barbara on Friday, Sept. 4. The match, which will be Mountaineers’ first of the annual WVU/NIKE Classic, presented by Jerseys Subs, is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
Admission to the match is free for WVU students with a valid student ID.
UC-Santa Barbara (1-0-0) played its first match of the season on Sept. 1 and recorded a 3-1 home victory over Cal-State Bakersfield. Martin Hedevag opened the scoring for the Gauchos and Michael Nonni tacked on the final two goals of the match for UCSB. The Gauchos out-shot the Roadrunners, 17-3, and also owned the advantage in corner kicks, 7-1.
The Gauchos are led by Tim Vom Steeg, who enters his 11th season with the program and owns a 141-56-20 mark with UCSB. The squad returns 13 letterwinners and welcomes 15 newcomers. UCSB finished the regular season with a 10-7-5 overall mark, going 5-2 in the Big West. The team, which ended the year with a No. 22 ranking in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, lost in the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament to California, 3-2, in overtime.
"We have a great amount of respect for UC-Santa Barbara. They are a very well-coached team and they have an excellent staff and great players,” coach Marlon LeBlanc says. “One of the reasons we brought them here is because we want to play the best programs in America, and Santa Barbara is certainly one of them. We're looking forward to the challenge tomorrow night."
The Mountaineers are coming off a 2-0 exhibition win at Virginia on Aug. 29. Sophomore Alex Silva scored the first goal on a penalty kick and senior Gift Maworere tacked on an insurance goal on a header that beat Virginia goalkeeper Diego Restrepo. Sophomore Raymon Gaddis earned an assist on the play. The Mountaineers started five freshmen and two sophomores against the Cavaliers.
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"I'm looking forward to the Santa Barbara game and a lot of people coming out. We're looking for a good result. I know we can do it. We've been training hard this whole week for it." - Freshman Moeryhan "Peabo" Doue "I think it's going to be a good game for me, the freshmen and our entire team. I think it's a good opportunity for us to see where we really are. I think we have good chemistry, a good team, and I think we can go far." - Freshman Abel "Shadow" Sebele "It's what the returnees have been practicing for all spring. We went through lifts and running tests just to get to this point. When we added our freshmen, they've been a big contribution to our team and they've really helped us out." - Senior Jason Bristol "I'm expecting it to be very lively. Hopefully it's a sold-out crowd. We already know UC-Santa Barbara is going to be a great challenge, and if we keep playing the way we are, it's going to be a good game." - Freshman Uwem Etuk |
