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Regular Season Concludes Saturday at NIU
November 04, 2016 04:25 PM | Men's Soccer
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Regular-season competition wraps up for the West Virginia University men’s soccer team at Northern Illinois on Saturday, November 5, at 8 p.m. ET at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex.
Fans unable to cheer on the Mountaineers in person can watch a live video stream and follow live stats, which both can be found on WVUSports.com. Additional updates, news and notes will be available on social media by following and connecting with @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Saturday concludes a regular-season-ending four match roadtrip for the Mountaineers (8-6-1, 1-3 Mid-American Conference), where they look to improve on a 3-1 road record and a 4-2 mark outside of Morgantown. WVU is coming off a 2-1 loss at Western Michigan a week ago, after beginning the roadtrip with a 3-1 win at No. 22 Akron and a 1-0 midweek win at Penn.
The Huskies (1-10-4, 0-3-1 MAC) enter the final game of the regular season with an 0-5-1 record at home. On a five match losing streak, NIU is looking for its first goal in six matches and its first conference win. Northern Illinois’ lone win on the year came at Milwaukee, on September 21.
Junior midfielder Jad Arslan leads the team with four goals, while he is joined by senior forward Felix Angerer with a team-high-tying nine points. Freshman defender Sebastian Garcia-Herreros and junior midfielder Joey Piatczyc lead the team with four assists. Angerer has a team-best 28 shots and 17 shots on goal.
Junior goalkeeper Jose Santos, who has made 46 saves and recorded eight shutouts, is second in the MAC in goals-against average (0.716) and save percentage (.807). Additionally, Angerer’s 1.21 shots on goal per game is third in the league.
SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Northern Illinois enters the regular-season finale with a 1-10-4 record and an 0-3-1 mark in conference play. The Huskies, who are 0-5-1 at home, have lost five in a row after a scoreless draw at Western Michigan in the teams’ Mid-American Conference opener. NIU’s last goal came on Oct. 4, in a 1-1 draw to UIC.
Eric Luzzi is in his eighth season as head coach at NIU after being promoted from associate head coach in 2009. He owns a 56-69-16 record at NIU and is 83-117-25 in 12 seasons as a head coach.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE HUSKIES
West Virginia is 2-2-1 all-time against Northern Illinois and undefeated in the last five contests. After a pair of losses in 2012 in the teams’ first season as conference foes, the Mountaineers earned a 4-0 win at home in 2013 before a 1-1 draw in DeKalb in 2014. Last year, West Virginia posted a 3-2 win at home in the regular-season finale.
UP NEXT: NCAA SELECTION SHOW
Ranked No. 30 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings, the Mountaineers await their postseason fate and a berth in the 48-team NCAA Tournament. The selection show is set for Monday, November 14, at 1 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
LAST TIME OUT: LOSS AT WMU
A goal and several more chances in the final 10 minutes was not enough in a 2-1 loss at Western Michigan on October 29.
On a windy afternoon, the Mountaineers trailed 2-0 after 16 minutes of play before senior defender Jack Elliott scored on a penalty kick in the 80th minute after a red card was shown to the WMU keeper. With Western Michigan down a player for the final 10:09, the Mountaineers put two shots on goal and another hit the post, but they could not find the equalizer.
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