Men's Soccer: WVU Falls in 2OT to No. 9 Monmouth
September 03, 2010 11:19 PM | General
September 3, 2010
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| Junior Raymon Gaddis was all over the field for West Virginia on Friday.
Alli Toffle photo |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men’s soccer team fell to No. 9 Monmouth, 1-0, in double overtime in front of 2,209 fans on opening night of the 2010 season. The crowd was the second highest at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in men’s soccer history. The match was part of the Save Face WVU Classic presented by Jerseys Subs.
Although WVU took the loss, they were able to out-shoot the Hawks 21-5, including 8-0 in the first half. The Mountaineers also controlled the pace of play for the majority of the game and were led by junior captain Raymon Gaddis who was electrifying every time he got a touch.
“There’s not much you can say to your team to make them feel better,” coach Marlon LeBlanc said. “What are you going to do? There were 21 missed opportunities and a couple of crossbars. We had chances to win, we just couldn’t score goals.”
The winning goal came with less than six minutes remaining in overtime when Monmouth’s Ryan Kinne took a throw-in and beat a West Virginia defender. Kinne then crossed the ball to Jacob Rubinstein, who was able to settle the ball in front of the net and put it past WVU goalkeeper Zach Johnson for the winning goal.
“We shutdown their Hermann Trophy candidate (Kinne), their goalkeeper (Bryan Meredith) was good, their other Hermann Trophy candidate,” LeBlanc said. “They’re such a good team. Kinne is a good player who will find a way to beat you if you switch off for a half-second.”
Prior to the goal, Monmouth’s best chance came in the 71st minute when Erkko Puranen took a direct shot from within five yards of the net that Johnson was able to corral and cover up.
Three of WVU’s best opportunities came in the overtime sessions. Shadow Sebele start off the first overtime with a shot in the 93rd minute that Monmouth goalkeeper Bryan Meredith had to make a diving save for. Sebele then followed that up in the 96th minute after a Monmouth hand ball right outside of their box. Sebele took a beautiful direct kick that nicked the crossbar, which prevented the goal.
Travis Pittman had a similar chance in 101st minute after breaking through the defense and putting a shot on goal that again hit the crossbar.
The Mountaineers led the Hawks in shots on goal, 6-3, but trailed in corner kicks, 7-2. West Virginia also had 13 fouls to Monmouth’s 11.
The Mountaineers return to the pitch on Sunday, Sept. 5, for a match against No. 17 UNC Wilmington, who is 1-0-0, after beating Binghamton, 1-0, earlier in the day. Kickoff is schedule for 3:30 p.m. at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
