Men’s Soccer Blanked at Elon
September 14, 2014 09:55 PM | General
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ELON, N.C. – After allowing a goal in the 68th minute, the WVU men’s soccer team fell 1-0 to Elon on Sunday night at Rudd Field.
The loss is the third straight for the Mountaineers, who fell to 3-3 after winning its first three matches of the season.
After numerous opportunities, the Phoenix capitalized on a goal by James Brace. Senior goalkeeper Lee Johnston made a save on a point-blank shot by Rett Webb, but could not grab the rebound and Brace put home the goal.
“We made a mistake, but you can’t just point at the mistake. We had chances, a lot of chances and we didn’t convert,” coach Marlon LeBlanc said. “When you go on the road you need to be able to grind out results and one error cost us the goal, but multiple errors cost us the game.”
Following Elon’s goal, WVU pressed forward and in the 75th minute junior Ryan Cain received a centering pass, but the shot went over the crossbar.
Senior Andy Bevin had WVU’s final chance in the 88th minute as he attempted a full volley, but Elon goalkeeper Nathan Dean scooped the shot up.
Elon held a 16-12 advantage in shots, but West Virginia had a 5-4 edge in shots on goal. Bevin took four shots for the Mountaineers and was quite efficient with three shots on goal.
Elon’s Nathan Diehl nearly had the match’s first goal in the 29th minute. Following Elon’s first corner kick of the game, Diehl headed an attempt just over the crossbar.
Bevin had a chance in the 37th minute after drawing a foul in the offensive zone. He took a free kick from 25 yards out and the Dean was screened, but was able to deflect the ball out of play.
On the ensuing corner kick sophomore Jack Elliott headed a shot that was blocked by an Elon defender, and after a brief scrum the Phoenix cleared the ball out of the box.
The Phoenix had a plethora of opportunities beginning in the 58th minute with four-consecutive corner kicks. Following the second corner kick, junior Zak Leedom made a team save, clearing a Diehl header off of the line.
West Virginia’s first chance of the second half came in the 64th minute as junior Jamie Merriam rocketed a shot from 25 yards out that was punched down by Dean.
WVU will have the week off before returning to North Carolina next weekend to face High Point on Saturday, Sept. 20, at 7 p.m. Links to a video stream and live stats is available via WVUsports.com.
