Men’s Soccer Begins MAC Tournament
November 08, 2012 11:10 AM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia men’s soccer team opens Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship play with a semifinal match against Northern Illinois on Friday, Nov. 9. Kickoff is slated 4 p.m., at First Energy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field in Akron, Ohio.
The Mountaineers earned the No. 3 seed and a tie for second place in the conference after a 1-0 shutout at Bowling Green in the regular season finale last Saturday.
“It’s not different than any other game, we’re expected to be here,” coach Marlon LeBlanc says. “We expected to be in a situation where we’re getting to compete for championships.”
West Virginia finished the regular season 9-5-2, including a 4-2-1 mark in MAC play. The Mountaineers have won seven of their last 11 matches.
“Essentially, it was probably more of a disappointment that we put ourselves in the situation where in the last week we needed to get a win in order to go through,” LeBlanc says.
The Mountaineers and Huskies met for the first time in program history on Oct. 27, in DeKalb, Ill. Northern Illinois came away with a 1-0 victory on a goal by Isaac Kannah with six minutes remaining in regulation. The Mountaineers finished with a 10-9 shot advantage, including 7-4 in shots on goal.
Northern Illinois comes into the match with a 6-9-3 record and is coached by fourth-year coach Eric Luzzi. The Huskies finished in a tie for second with the Mountaineers in the MAC, but earned the No. 2 seed by holding the head-to-head advantage with WVU.
Gael Rivera leads the team in points with nine on four goals and one assist, while James Stevenson and Kannah have three goals and two goals, respectively. Matt Pritchard leads the team with three assists.
Goalkeeper Jordan Godsey has made 80 saves in 18 starts this season. Godsey has a 1.05 goals-against average with eight shutouts.
The winner of tomorrow’s match will advance to the MAC finals on Sunday, Nov. 11, between the winner of No. 1 seed Akron and No. 4 seed Bowling Green. Kickoff for the finals will be at 4:30 p.m.
The Mountaineers earned the No. 3 seed and a tie for second place in the conference after a 1-0 shutout at Bowling Green in the regular season finale last Saturday.
“It’s not different than any other game, we’re expected to be here,” coach Marlon LeBlanc says. “We expected to be in a situation where we’re getting to compete for championships.”
West Virginia finished the regular season 9-5-2, including a 4-2-1 mark in MAC play. The Mountaineers have won seven of their last 11 matches.
“Essentially, it was probably more of a disappointment that we put ourselves in the situation where in the last week we needed to get a win in order to go through,” LeBlanc says.
The Mountaineers and Huskies met for the first time in program history on Oct. 27, in DeKalb, Ill. Northern Illinois came away with a 1-0 victory on a goal by Isaac Kannah with six minutes remaining in regulation. The Mountaineers finished with a 10-9 shot advantage, including 7-4 in shots on goal.
Northern Illinois comes into the match with a 6-9-3 record and is coached by fourth-year coach Eric Luzzi. The Huskies finished in a tie for second with the Mountaineers in the MAC, but earned the No. 2 seed by holding the head-to-head advantage with WVU.
Gael Rivera leads the team in points with nine on four goals and one assist, while James Stevenson and Kannah have three goals and two goals, respectively. Matt Pritchard leads the team with three assists.
Goalkeeper Jordan Godsey has made 80 saves in 18 starts this season. Godsey has a 1.05 goals-against average with eight shutouts.
The winner of tomorrow’s match will advance to the MAC finals on Sunday, Nov. 11, between the winner of No. 1 seed Akron and No. 4 seed Bowling Green. Kickoff for the finals will be at 4:30 p.m.
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