WVU Earns Upset Win at No. 22 Akron

Saturday, October 22

Akron, Ohio

7:30 p.m.

West Virginia University

7-5-1, 1-2-0MAC

Akron

7-5-2, 2-1-0MAC

Team	1	2	Final F
West Virginia	1	2	3
Akron	0	1	1

Main-MSOCatAkron-102216.jpg

October 22, 2016 11:08 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

AKRON, Ohio – A goal by junior midfielder Joey Piatczyc just 39 seconds into the match and two second-half goals by junior midfielder Jad Arslan fueled the West Virginia University men's soccer team to a 3-1 upset victory at No. 22 Akron on Saturday night.

The Mountaineers (7-5-1, 1-2 Mid-American Conference) scored in the opening minute and never looked back, as Arslan scored the eventual game-winner in the 63rd minute before adding an insurance goal less than nine minutes later. WVU handed the Zips (7-5-2, 2-1 MAC) their first conference loss since 2014.

“The players were excellent on the evening,” WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. “The guys fought valiantly, they fought hard, and I'm awfully proud of my team. Akron's a great team, but I thought that we had a great gameplan and the players executed.”

Along with Piatczyc's second goal of the season and Arslan's team-leading third and fourth goals, junior goalkeeper Jose Santos made several big saves to contribute to the victory. Santos finished with five saves, while Akron keeper Ben Lundt made four saves.

WVU finished with 10 shots, seven on goal, while Akron had 19 shots, six on goal. Senior forward Felix Angerer recorded assists on the first two goals, and freshman defender Sebastian Garcia-Herreros notched an assist on the Mountaineers' first score. Akron's lone goal came in the 87th minute, off the foot of Brad Ruhaak.

West Virginia wasted no time in taking a 1-0 lead. The opening score came just 39 seconds into the match, off the foot of Piatczyc. The play began in WVU's end of the field, where Garcia-Herreros took the ball down the near sideline all the way to the goal line, where he sent a cross in from the corner into the six-yard box.

The ball deflected off Angerer in front of the net right to Piatczyc. On the left side of the net, Piatczyc beat the Akron keeper to score in the inside corner.

“You go on the road and score 30 seconds into the game, you have to feel pretty good,” LeBlanc said of WVU's early score. “As a coach, you're still hoping your players don't change the approach, and they didn't. We were stout, did what we needed to do and got the goal. At the end of the day, it's a good win against a very good team, but we have three more games to play.”

The Mountaineers took a 2-0 lead in the 63rd minute, at 62:32. Angerer brought the ball up the far sideline and passed it inside the box to Arslan, who beat the UA goalkeeper with a shot from the left side of the goal into the top right corner of the net.

It took less than nine minutes for Arslan to find the back of the net again. Freshman defender Logan Lucas passed the ball to Arslan, who beat several Akron defenders before entering the box and chipping the ball over the goalkeeper to score at 70:11.

Akron held a 6-5 advantage in shots and a 7-1 edge in corner kicks in the first half. Both teams recorded three shots on goal.

In the ninth minute, the Zips put two shots on goal in a two-minute span, but Santos made both saves to preserve the 1-0 advantage. He made his third save of the match in the 16th minute.

Sophomore midfielder Rushawn Larmond's shot in the 26th minute was saved to keep it a 1-0 match.

Akron had a chance to equal the score in the 35th minute, with a corner kick and several shots, but one was blocked and another went wide before WVU cleared the ball. On its next offensive opportunity, Angerer sent a shot in that was saved, in the 38th minute, and Garcia-Herreros followed two minutes later with a shot that was blocked.

Arslan's two goals, at 62:32 and 70:11, highlighted the second half. WVU had five shots, four on goal, while Akron recorded 13 shots, three on goal.

The Zips opened the half with a shot that sailed high four minutes in, and Arslan countered with a shot that was saved in the 52nd minute.

Arslan followed with a pair of goals in the 63rd and 71st minute. Three minutes later, an Akron shot was blocked by the WVU defense and another shot went wide to preserve a 3-0 West Virginia lead.

The Zips cut the Mountaineers' lead to 3-1 with a goal in the 87th minute, by Ruhaak. A minute later, Santos made his final save of the game to prevent Akron from getting any closer.

WVU's roadtrip continues at Penn in Philadelphia, on Tuesday, October 25, at 7 p.m. ET. The Mountaineers and Quakers have met twice before and the teams are 1-1 against each other. WVU earned a 1-0 road win in 2014 before a 3-2 double-overtime loss last year at home.

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