Men's Soccer Hosts No. 9 UC Irvine
September 10, 2014 03:24 PM | General
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“Having a Top-10 team from the West Coast coming into our place is a great opportunity for us to make up for a little bit of a lethargic effort on Sunday afternoon,” coach Marlon LeBlanc said.
The match been designated as a “Dollar Day,” with all tickets, hot dogs, popcorn and Coca-Colas available for just $1 each. Admission is free for WVU students with a valid WVU student ID.
Additionally, WVU students who are members of on-campus WVU club sports are encouraged to attend the match. Various contests will take place throughout the night, including the annual Qdoba burrito eating contest. The first 200 Mountaineer Maniacs will receive a men’s soccer t-shirt.
West Virginia is 3-1, most recently falling 1-0 to St. Francis (Pa.) last Sunday. Senior Andy Bevin leads the team with two goals and four assists for eight points, while junior Jamie Merriam scored one goal in each of the first three matches. Freshman Jad Arslan has two goals and freshman Louis Thomas has added four assists.
Sophomore goalkeeper Brent Arnold has started all four matches and has 11 saves with a 0.50 goals-against average, including two shutouts.
UC Irvine enters the match at 3-0 and has defeated Pacific, Denver and Clemson thus far. Eduardo Calzada leads the team with two goals, while five different players have one goal apiece.
“They’re not a set-piece orientated team. They’re going to play futbol and typically when we match up with these kinds of teams, it ends up being a pretty good and exciting game,” LeBlanc said. “When we play against teams that want to sit back and counter, it actually makes it harder.”
Goalkeeper Michael Breslin has allowed two goals in three matches for a 0.67 goals-against average, making six saves.
This will be the first match between the Mountaineers and Anteaters.
Fans who are unable to attend the match are invited to follow the action through a video steam, courtesy of Kroger, at WVUsports.com. Live stats are available at WVULiveStats.com.
