MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (September 25, 2015) – The West Virginia University men’s soccer team closes play in the month of September when it hosts UNC Greensboro on Saturday, Sept. 25 at noon, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
The Mountaineers (2-5-0) and Spartans (4-3-1) meet for the second time in series history after the two teams last squared off in 2006, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“The mentality has been really good, the energy has been good, our focus has been good,” coach Marlon LeBlanc said of the team’s approach this week. “We’re fighting a little bit of bad luck and bad timing, but we’re not playing badly. That’s the reason the guys have such a good mentality and a good spirit about it right now. I don’t think there’s anyone in the group that doesn’t believe we’re still capable of going on a run.
Admission to the match is free for all fans, courtesy of WVU Medicine. Fans unable to cheer on the Mountaineers in person can follow along with live stats at WVULiveStats.com. Updates will also be available on social media by following and connecting with @WVUMensSoccer on
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Saturday’s match comes after six days off for the Mountaineers and a week before their next match. WVU hosted No. 18/RV Georgetown on Sept. 20 and travels to St. Francis (Pa.) on Oct. 3. The two extended stretches between games, both before and after Saturday’s outing vs. UNCG, are the longest streaks of the season.
Thanks to a pair of six-goal outputs at home, WVU is among the conference and national leaders in several categories. The Mountaineers are first in the Mid-American Conference and 15th nationally with a 2.14 scoring offense. West Virginia is seventh in the country with 18 total assists. WVU is 11th nationally and second in the MAC in total points with 48 and 17th in the nation and second in the league in total goals with 15.
Individually, sophomore Joey Piatczyc leads the nation averaging 1.00 assist per game and is second with seven total assists. Senior Ryan Cain is 18th with 0.83 goals per game and 19th with five total goals on the year.
SCOUTING UNC GREENSBORO
UNC Greensboro is 4-3-1 on the season after a 1-0 overtime loss at High Point on Sept. 23. The Spartans opened the year with a 1-0 win at Virginia Tech in double overtime and also tied South Carolina, 3-3 11 days later. UNCG has played four overtime matches in 2015, with a 1-2-1 record.
UNCG is led by Justin Maullin, in his sixth season as head coach. In his first season, Maullin helped lead the Spartans to a conference tournament championship, an NCAA Tournament berth and share of the Southern Conference regular season title. Maullin has spent 11 years on the UNCG coaching staff.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE SPARTANS
WVU is 0-1 vs. UNC Greensboro, with the lone previous meeting coming in the 2006 NCAA Tournament’s second round. The Spartans earned a 2-1 victory in double overtime with a goal in the 1:04th minute. WVU posted nine shots in the match and UNCG had six. Chris Wittig scored the Mountaineer goal in the 70th minute.
UP NEXT: AT ST. FRANCIS (PA.)
West Virginia returns to the road to face St. Francis (Pa.) on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m. WVU will look to improve on a 14-4-1 record vs. the Red Flash. The Mountaineers are a perfect 5-0 at St. Francis.
LAST TIME OUT: VS. #18 GU
West Virginia suffered a 3-1 defeat to No. 18 Georgetown on Sept. 20. The Mountaineers took a 1-0 lead on a Jack Elliott goal in the 54th minute, but the Hoyas answered with three goals to claim the win.
Elliott recorded his second goal of the season at 53:11 off a free kick just outside the box from straight on and avoided the wall of Georgetown defenders.
GU netted its first goal in the 60th minute on a penalty kick after a WVU red card, and played the remainder of the game with a man advantage. WVU freshman goaltender Alec Boerner had a career-best seven saves in his first career start.
WVU HONORED FOR ACADEMICS
For the eighth consecutive year, WVU earned an NSCAA Team Academic Award for its team grade point average, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America announced on Wednesday. The Mountaineers were recognized as one of 306 men’s teams to earn a 3.0 GPA or higher during the 2014-15 academic year. A total of 859 teams (306 men, 553 women) were honored by the NSCAA with a team GPA of 3.0 or higher. WVU is one of 211 schools to have both its men’s and women’s programs honored.
