DAYTON, Ohio – The West Virginia University men’s soccer team lost to Wright State, 3-1 on Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio.
Senior Ryan Cain scored his team-leading fifth goal for the Mountaineers (2-4) in the first half, but the Raiders (5-1) answered with three goals after the intermission.
“In the second half, we allowed the physical play to disrupt us,” WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. “Unfortunately we buckled under the pressure. We have to go back to the drawing board and figure out if we’re going to be able to be blue collar when the time calls for us to be blue collar so we can grind out results.”
WVU posted nine shots in the game, three on goal. WSU had 11 shots, five on goal. Junior goaltender Daniel Diaz notched one save in the contest, while Wright State’s Tyler Blackmer also had one.
West Virginia returns home to host former conference foe Georgetown on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 4 p.m.
Cain scored the Mountaineers’ goal at 20:38. The senior converted from five yards out after receiving a pass from sophomore Joey Piatczyc. Senior Jamie Merriam was also credited with an assist after he had two touches before sending the ball to Piatczyc, who also touched it twice before Cain scored.
The Raiders evened the score at 1-1 in the 58th minute. The goal came after Haydon Bennett earned a yellow card, the sixth caution called in the half. Wright State had a free kick just outside the box, and WSU’s Sam DeRoy converted from the left side just outside the top of the box. The shot sailed over the WVU defensive line and into the back of the net.
WVU had a chance to take the lead, but the play at the edge of the box was called offsides. The Mountaineers found the back of the net on the play, but just after the assistant referee called the play offsides.
In the 85th minute, Wright State took a 2-1 lead on a shot that bounced off a WVU defender and into the back of the net. The Raiders made it 3-1 in the 90th minute when Brett Elder scored.
Early in the first half, both team’s best scoring chances came on consecutive possessions in the 15th minute. Cain fired a shot on net that hit the crossbar near the upper right corner. Wright State followed with an offensive attack that concluded with a header from close range and Diaz’s first save of the contest.
