Men’s Soccer Draws at Northern Illinois
October 11, 2014 11:57 PM | General
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It is the first tie of the season for the Mountaineers (6-5-1, 0-0-1 MAC), while the Huskies (2-5-5) played to their fifth tie.
“We probably should have put the game away in the first half and then we’re sitting here playing possession in the second half,” coach Marlon LeBlanc said. “Unfortunately we didn’t put the game away and we left it open for them. We have to take the positive and that is that we got a point on the road, but we would’ve liked to half three. Give credit to Northern Illinois, they fought back and played hard in the second half.”
Senior Andy Bevin gave WVU the 1-0 lead in the 38th minute following a through ball by sophomore Mike Desiderio off an NIU turnover. Bevin came up the right side and ripped a shot to NIU goalkeeper Andrew Glaeser’s right into the far netting.
“It was a good goal. Desi intercepted a pass and played the simple ball to Andy who does the rest,” LeBlanc said. “It was a complement to the way we played the first half. We were dominant the first 45 minutes.”
West Virginia entered the half with a comfortable 1-0 lead and a 10-4 shot advantage. The match finished with NIU holding a 15-14 edge in shots, and taking 11 shots in the final 65 minutes.
The Huskies came out quickly in the second half as Chris Paton notched his third goal of the season in the 46th minute. Andrew Palumbo sent a cross into the box that was headed by Paton to senior goalkeeper Lee Johnston’s left.
“We got away from it a bit in the second half,” LeBlanc said. “I don’t want to say we took our foot off the gas, but we got away from doing what make a successful in the first half, holding possession and knocking the ball around.”
The action started early with Bevin stealing the ball from the NIU back line in the third minute. Bevin had a breakaway and was taken down from behind as he shot it, but Glaeser made the save and there was no call on the takedown.
Bevin drew a foul in the 23rd minute that led to a free kick. Sophomore Jack Elliott took the attempt from 25 yards out and Glaeser was able to save it near post.
Johnston made big saves on two NIU chances from deep, punching them both over the frame. In the 43rd minute Palumbo sent a blast towards net, while Paton took a similar chance in the 60th minute.
Merriam nearly gave WVU a 2-1 lead in the 75th minute as he had a perfectly-timed run, but had his breakaway shot kicked away by Glaeser.
Paton drew a free kick at the top of the box in the 97th minute, but sent the bending shot just wide of the right post.
Elliott had a similar opportunity for the Mountaineers in the 101st minute, but Elliott’s blast went into the NIU wall.
WVU will stay on the road for a MAC match at Akron on Friday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. The game has been designated as the NSCAA College Soccer Game of the Week and will be broadcast on NSCAATV.com.
