WVU Posts Record-Setting Seventh Straight Shutout

Saturday, September 24

Greensboro, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

6-1-1

UNCG

4-2-2

Team	1	2	Final F
West Virginia	0	1	1
UNCG	0	0	0

Main-MSOCatUNCG-092416.jpg

September 24, 2016 10:25 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

24 West Virginia Mountaineers

6-1-1

Final

UNC Greensboro Spartans

4-2-2

Final Stats

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The No. 24 West Virginia University men's soccer team recorded its record-setting seventh consecutive shutout in a 1-0 victory at UNCG on Saturday evening in Greensboro, N.C.

The Mountaineers (6-1-1) are unbeaten in their last seven matches, all shutouts. Junior goalkeeper Jose Santos made four saves and moved into a tie for No. 9 in program history with his seventh career shutout. While making four saves, Santos posted a clean sheet against the Spartans (4-2-2) and has not allowed a goal in more than 705 minutes.

Junior midfielder Jad Arslan scored the game-winning goal in the 62nd minute, his first goal of the season and second game-winning goal of his career. West Virginia improved to 4-0 in 1-0 contests and a perfect 6-0 when scoring at least one goal.

"We were awesome on the evening, we played great football and got just reward for the effort that we put in," WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. "The guys played both sides of the ball for 90 minutes tonight, and all the credit goes to the kids."

WVU had 11 shots, with freshman defender Sebastian Garcia-Herreros leading the team with three. The Mountaineers notched four shots on goal. UNCG recorded 10 shots, four on goal.

Arslan netted his first goal of the season at 61:23. The assist went to Garcia-Herreros, his third of the season, and freshman defender Steven James, his second. James sent the ball in to Garcia-Herreros. On a long run towards the endline, Garcia-Herreros crossed the ball in to Arslan from six yards out. Arslan connected to break a scoreless match and give the Mountaineers a 1-0 advantage.

"It was a great ball in from Steven James behind the defense, and Sebastian Garcia-Herreros puts in an unbelievable shift to get on the end of the ball," LeBlanc added. "He squares a great pass in to Jad, who made the hard near-post run that we work on all the time in training, and he absolutely buried it. For us to come in here and find that goal on the road, against such a well-coached and disciplined UNCG team, our kids were tremendous on the evening and certainly deserved to get the result tonight."

UNCG's best opportunity to even the score at 1-1 came in the 79th minute, but Santos and the WVU defense prevented the Spartans from finding the back of the net. Off a free kick, UNCG's Leeroy Maguraushe sent a shot in over the wall towards the right side of the net. Santos dove to his left to make the save. On the rebound, UNCG's shot from the right side from 10 yards out was blocked.

Santos made two saves in the second half, as UNCG had six shots. WVU recorded eight shots, three on goal, including Arslan's game-winner.

In the first half, UNCG applied pressure early before WVU held possession for much of the remainder of the opening 45 minutes. The Mountaineers had three shots, one on goal, while the Spartans notched four shots, two on goal.

Santos made two nice saves to keep it a scoreless match, and keep his shutout streak alive. The first save came in the 17th minute after a UNCG corner kick. The second save was in the 43rd minute.

The Mountaineers return home to begin their final homestand of the season against St. Mary's (Calif.) on Saturday, October 1. Kickoff is set for noon ET, and admission is free for all fans, courtesy of WVU Medicine.

WVU Soccer Scarf ticket packages are now on sale and includes the official 2016 WVU Soccer fan scarf and 10 tickets to be used at any men's or women's home matches during the regular season. Packages are just $30 and are available while supplies last. To order, visit WVUGAME.com or call 1-800-WVU GAME. More information is available on WVUSports.com.

Additionally, single-game tickets for all nine regular-season home matches are now on sale at WVUGAME.com or by calling 1-800-WVU-GAME.

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