Men’s Soccer Faces Niagara at Home
September 25, 2014 07:18 PM | General
The match has been designated as WVU Faculty/Staff Night, and all faculty and staff will receive a coupon via email for free admission.
“Our guys love playing at home,” coach Marlon Leblanc said. “As a coaching staff, we love providing them an atmosphere that’s conducive to being able to have a home field advantage. When our crowd shows up, our guys are motivated to perform for them.”
West Virginia (4-4) has played its last three games on the road, most recently falling 4-3 in double-overtime at James Madison on Tuesday evening.
“This team hasn’t played poorly yet. Soccer is a knife’s edge game and a lot of times you look back and see certain moments where the game could have changed,” LeBlanc said. “I think we’ve had some unlucky moments that have spelled out defeat for us.”
The Mountaineers scored two early goals before allowing three-consecutive goals to enter halftime trailing 3-2. WVU scored a goal in the second half to tie the match at 3-3, but James Madison scored the game-winning goal in the 105th minute.
After not scoring in the first seven matches of the season, junior forward Ryan Cain found the back of the net three times against James Madison. Six different players added assists to Cain’s goals.
Senior forward Andy Bevin continues to lead the Mountaineers in points (12) and he currently ranks second in the NCAA with six assists. Junior midfielder Jamie Merriam has scored a goal in five of the seven games this season and ranks 15th nationally in that category.
“It’s great for Ryan to get that monkey off his back. He is capable of scoring goals and we need him to,” LeBlanc said. “If we now have Ryan hitting, we have a three-headed monster in Ryan Cain, Andy Bevin and Jamie Merriam coming at you in the attack.”
Niagara (3-4-1) enters the match after tying Pitt, 1-1, on Tuesday evening. The Purple Eagles are 2-1-1 in their last four games.
Senior forward Callum Willmott has two goals and junior midfielder Andrew Ferguson has one goal and two assists to lead the Niagara offense.
Freshman goalkeeper Joel Gerberich has played in six games this season, allowing 10 goals and making 19 saves. He has a 2-3-1 record with one shutout.
For live stats and a video stream of the match courtesy of Kroger, visit WVUsports.com. Fans can follow the action through social media by following @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter.
