MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men’s soccer team opens postseason competition at Akron in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Championship on Friday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.

 

Watch Live | Live Stats | WVU Match Notes | Video: Akron Preview | Video: Inside the 18

 

The Mountaineers earned the No. 4 seed in the MAC Championship and face top-seeded and No. 10 Akron at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field in Akron, Ohio.

 

Fans unable to cheer on the Mountaineers in person can watch a live stream on GoZips.com, with David Suntip on the call. Live stats can be found at GoZips.com, and updates will also be available on social media by following and connecting with @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

 

“Akron is a very good team,” WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. “Our plan is to attack them and go after them. This team has qualified for the postseason every single year over the last 10 years, so we’re looking forward to this challenge.”

 

As the No. 1 seed, Akron will host the championship. The semifinals will be held on Friday, while the championship game is set for Sunday, Nov. 15. The Mountaineers (7-11-0, 2-3-0 MAC) and Zips (13-3-2, 4-0-1 MAC) square off at 7 p.m. on Friday, after second-seeded Western Michigan (11-3-4, 3-1-1 MAC) takes on the No. 3 seed, Buffalo (7-6-4, 2-2-1 MAC) in the first semifinal matchup at 4 p.m. Sunday’s championship game will kick off at 1 p.m.

 

West Virginia has advanced to the MAC Championship in all four seasons it has been a member of the conference. WVU has faced Akron once before in the conference tournament, a 3-0 loss in the 2013 semifinals at Akron.

 

Complete championship information, including how to purchase tickets, can be found at MAC-sports.com.

 

Semifinals – Friday, November 13, 2015

Match 1: No. 2 Western Michigan vs. No. 3 Buffalo – 4 p.m.

Match 2: No. 1 Akron vs. No. 4 West Virginia – 7 p.m.

 

Championship – Sunday, November 15, 2015

Match 3: Match 1 Winner vs. Match 2 Winner – 1 p.m.

 

West Virginia has earned a berth in the Mid-American Conference Championship in all four seasons it has been in the league. The Mountaineers are 0-3-0 in the MAC Championship after a 3-2 overtime loss to Bowling Green in 2014 semifinals.

 

2015 is the second time WVU has been the No. 4 seed, along with 2013. West Virginia was the No. 3 seed in 2012 and the No. 2 seed in 2014. Akron has hosted the tournament as the No. 1 seed all three years WVU has been in the MAC.

 

Friday’s matchup vs. Akron marks the second time the Mountaineers and Zips have met in the league tournament. Top-seeded Akron bested West Virginia, 3-0 in the 2013 semifinals.

 

WVU has won four conference tournament titles. The Mountaineers won the Southern Conference Championship every year they were in the conference, in 1065, ’66 and ’67. West Virginia also won the Atlantic 10 Tournament in 1992.

 

No. 10 Akron is 13-3-2 on the season and won its 11th consecutive Mid-American Conference regular season title with a 4-0-1 record in league play. The Zips are 6-2-1 at home and 4-3-0 against ranked opponents. Akron closed the year with a 4-0 win over Bowling Green after a 4-2 loss to No. 25 UCLA on Nov. 1. UA’s lone tie in conference play came at Western Michigan on Oct. 24, a 1-1 draw.

 

The 2015 MAC regular season championship is Akron’s 18th in program history. The Zips have claimed the title outright every year since 2007. Akron has won 11 MAC Tournament titles since 1998. UA has won three consecutive and seven of the last eight.

 

Jared Embick is in his third season as head coach of the Zips after spending six seasons as an associate head coach. Akron is 43-13-5 under Embick, with three MAC championships and a pair of NCAA Tournament berths.

 

After a 2-0 Akron win on Oct. 28, West Virginia is 2-13-1 all-time vs. Akron, but just five of those matches have occurred in Morgantown. Before Akron came to Dick Dlesk Stadium in 2013 and ’15, the last time WVU hosted UA was in 1972, a 4-3 win for the Mountaineers. Since West Virginia joined the Mid-American Conference in 2012, three of the five matches have been one-goal contests. Last year, Akron posted a 3-2 win at home. A recap of the match on Oct. 28 in Morgantown can be found here.

 

With a win against Akron, the Mountaineers will advance to take on the winner of Western Michigan/Buffalo in the MAC Championship match on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 1 p.m. The game will take place in Akron, Ohio, at FirstEnergy Stadium - Cub Cadet Field. It will be WVU’s first appearance in the MAC Championship game.

 

WVU concluded the regular season with a 3-2 win over Northern Illinois on Nov. 6. On senior night, three goals were scored in the final 4:06, but it was the game winner by junior midfielder Jack Elliott at 88:59 that gave WVU a dramatic 3-2 victory over Northern Illinois.

 

The Mountaineers kept their postseason hopes alive thanks to goals in the 42nd, 78th and 89th minutes. The Huskies attempted to spoil WVU’s senior night with two goals in less than three minutes to tie the match at 2-2 before Elliott’s game winner.

 

Sophomore Joey Piatczyc scored in the 42nd minute, and the Mountaineers took a 2-0 lead in the 77th minute on a goal by junior Felix Angerer. In the 86th minute though, NIU cut the lead in half, and less than three minutes later, the Huskies evened the score at 2-2. Twenty-two seconds later, Elliott converted the game-winning goal.

 

Sophomore Joey Piatczyc has notched 13 assists in 2015, the most in a single season in program history. He continues to lead the country in both total assists and assists per game. Piatczyc has assisted on 13 of WVU’s 30 goals and scored two goals of his own. He leads the team with 17 assists.

 

The record-setting assist came in the regular season finale on Nov. 5. Off a free kick on the left side from 30 yards out, Piatczyc sent a shot towards the net. Junior Jack Elliott was standing eight yards out on the left side of the goal and headed the ball in.

 

In WVU’s 6-0 win over San Francisco on Aug. 30, Piatczyc posted a program-record four assists. In WVU history, 14 players had tallied three assists in a game, but Piatczyc became the first to record four helpers in a contest.

 

After the sophomore’s record match, he was rewarded with several local and national honors. Piatczyc was named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week on Sept. 1, in addition to earning Student-Athlete of the Week accolades by WVU Athletics. He was also nominated for the Hero Sports Division I Men’s Soccer Stud of the Week.

 

Senior Jamie Merriam has been named a finalists for the Senior CLASS Award. He is one of 10 men’s soccer student-athletes to be honored for excelling both on and off the field. Student-athletes are recognized for their achievements in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition.

 

Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winners. Fans are encouraged to vote on the SeniorClassAward.com through Nov. 23. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches’ votes to determine the winner. Fans can vote once a day on each device. More information on Merriam being named a finalist can be found on WVUsports.com.

 

For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.