Men's Soccer: WVU Drops Quarterfinal Match
November 06, 2011 06:10 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 16 West Virginia men’s soccer team fell to No. 13 St. John’s 2-0 on Sunday evening at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in a BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal match.
“We didn’t follow the game plan, we were lethargic and we stood around waiting for things to happen,” coach Marlon LeBlanc says. “We didn’t really do anything with any sense of urgency until we were down and then we started to get after the game.”
The game was dominated mostly with midfield play and saw few scoring opportunities. Both teams took nine shots, while St. John’s had six shots on-goal, compared to WVU’s two. The Mountaineers held a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Walter Hines scored the game-winning goal with a highlight reel shot in the 60th minute after receiving a free kick from Jack Bennett just outside the 18 yard box. Hines received the ball in mid-air and was able to redirect the ball past junior keeper Pat Eavenson for his fifth goal of the season.
Andres Vargas added an insurance goal with 10 seconds remaining in the match when he raced down the field on a breakaway and rifled a shot past Eavenson, who altered between coming out of the net and staying in on the play.
WVU’s best opportunity came in the 71st minute when freshman forward Andy Bevin recorded his lone shot of the match after beating at St. John’s defender and ripping a shot that went wide left.
The first half of the match was primarily played in the middle of the pitch with WVU holding the edge in shots (6-4), while St. John’s had three shots on-goal compared to WVU’s two.
In his third consecutive start, Eavenson made his presence known almost immediately with a key save in the fourth minute on a point-blank header by Adrian L’Esperance off a corner kick.
Eavenson also made a nice stop in the final seconds of the first half on a blast from Ido Ligety.
Eavenson finished with four saves in 90 minute of work, while St. John’s keeper Alex Naple stopped two shots.
Junior midfielder Travis Pittman led all players with four shots, including two shots on-goal, while Ligety, L’Esperance and Jimmy Mulligan each took two shots for the Red Storm.
WVU, who has built a solid tournament resume throughout the season, will learn its NCAA Tournament fate with a selection show on NCAA.com on Monday, Nov. 14, at 4:30 p.m.
“We didn’t follow the game plan, we were lethargic and we stood around waiting for things to happen,” coach Marlon LeBlanc says. “We didn’t really do anything with any sense of urgency until we were down and then we started to get after the game.”
The game was dominated mostly with midfield play and saw few scoring opportunities. Both teams took nine shots, while St. John’s had six shots on-goal, compared to WVU’s two. The Mountaineers held a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Walter Hines scored the game-winning goal with a highlight reel shot in the 60th minute after receiving a free kick from Jack Bennett just outside the 18 yard box. Hines received the ball in mid-air and was able to redirect the ball past junior keeper Pat Eavenson for his fifth goal of the season.
Andres Vargas added an insurance goal with 10 seconds remaining in the match when he raced down the field on a breakaway and rifled a shot past Eavenson, who altered between coming out of the net and staying in on the play.
WVU’s best opportunity came in the 71st minute when freshman forward Andy Bevin recorded his lone shot of the match after beating at St. John’s defender and ripping a shot that went wide left.
The first half of the match was primarily played in the middle of the pitch with WVU holding the edge in shots (6-4), while St. John’s had three shots on-goal compared to WVU’s two.
In his third consecutive start, Eavenson made his presence known almost immediately with a key save in the fourth minute on a point-blank header by Adrian L’Esperance off a corner kick.
Eavenson also made a nice stop in the final seconds of the first half on a blast from Ido Ligety.
Eavenson finished with four saves in 90 minute of work, while St. John’s keeper Alex Naple stopped two shots.
Junior midfielder Travis Pittman led all players with four shots, including two shots on-goal, while Ligety, L’Esperance and Jimmy Mulligan each took two shots for the Red Storm.
WVU, who has built a solid tournament resume throughout the season, will learn its NCAA Tournament fate with a selection show on NCAA.com on Monday, Nov. 14, at 4:30 p.m.
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