OT-Winner Gives LeBlanc 100th WVU Win

Friday, September 9

Morgantown, W.Va.

7:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

3-1

ETSU

2-2

Team	1	2	OT 2	Final F
ETSU	0	0	0	0
West Virginia	0	0	1	1

Main-LeBlanc100-090916.jpg

September 09, 2016 10:48 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

ETSU Buccaneers

2-2

Final/OT

22 West Virginia Mountaineers

3-1

Final Stats | Photo Gallery

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Freshman midfielder Logan Lucas' overtime goal in the 100th minute propelled the No. 22 West Virginia University men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over ETSU on Friday night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

The Mountaineers (3-1) won their third consecutive match, all by 1-0 scores, to give 11th-year coach Marlon LeBlanc his 100th victory as WVU head coach. Lucas' golden goal was his first goal of his collegiate career, and he was assisted by junior midfielder Joey Piatczyc and junior defender Steven James.

“I've got great players,” LeBlanc said after reaching the 100-win milestone. “An honest coach would tell you that you can't win without good players. Tonight, my players certainly bailed me out because we probably didn't have our best evening. Give a lot of credit to ETSU, because they fought tooth-and-nail to stay in that game. Their goalkeeper was fantastic and the defense was stout, clearing two off the line. We hit the post a couple of times and they did everything they could to keep us from winning this game. I've got good players.”

The win improved LeBlanc's record at WVU to 100-72-27. He is 104-75-27 in his career.

With under a minute remaining in the first overtime, Piatczyc took a free kick in the corner on the right side. His shot went into the box and off of James' head, where it fell to the foot of Lucas, who buried the ball in the back of the net for the win.

In goal for West Virginia, junior goalkeeper Jose Santos notched his third consecutive shutout and made a career-best four saves. Two of Santos' saves came in the second half and one came in overtime to keep it a scoreless match. For the Buccaneers (2-2), keeper Jonny Sutherland stopped five WVU shots, and two more shots were cleared off the line by ETSU defenders.

“Jose rose to the occasion when he had to, particularly the last one [in overtime],” LaBlanc said of Santos' performance in goal. “I think a couple that he touched wide were probably actually going wide. That last one he picked out of the top corner was bigtime, he kind of got caught on the counter-attack there. I think what he did really well tonight was manage the game. When he was called upon to make a big save he made it, and that's what we ask our goalkeepers to do. That's his job and I think he'll be the first one to tell you that too. It was a fantastic save and you have to give him credit for making the big stop to keep us in it.”

WVU held an 18-12 edge in shots, and an 8-4 advantage in shots on goal. Ten of West Virginia's shots came in the second half. Junior midfielder Jad Arslan led the team with four shots, one on goal, while Piatczyc had three, two on goal. James, Lucas, senior midfielder Christian Diaz and sophomore forward Rushawn Larmond all had two shots in the contest.

West Virginia had a strong start to the match, led by Piatczyc, who had the first shot on goal in the 10th minute, but his shot from just outside the box was stopped by a diving Sutherland. Just moments later, senior defender Jack Elliott fired a ball in from the top of the box, but his shot went directly to the goalkeeper for an easy save.

The Mountaineers controlled the ball for much of the rest of the first half and only allowed ETSU to have three shots, one on goal.

The Bucs came out strong in the second half when a cross into the box was just missed by an ETSU attacker and was cleared by WVU. After that chance, both teams struggled to keep possession. In the 73rd minute, Arslan passed the ball to Larmond, but his shot on goal was stopped by a fabulous diving save from the Buccaneer's goalkeeper.

Late in the half, Piatczyc took a corner kick and put the ball right on Steven James, who headed it on goal but an ETSU defender was right there to clear the ball. The second half featured eight total shots on goal, but none found the back of the net.

To begin the first overtime period, neither team could find an opportunity to finish the game. With one minute remaining though, WVU had an opportunity, which Piatczyc, James and Lucas capitalized on.

West Virginia remains at home to host UMBC on Wednesday, September 14, at 7 p.m. ET. It is a Dollar Night, where tickets and select concession items – small soda, popcorn and Skittles – can be purchased for just $1 each. For fans unable to attend the match, a free live stream, courtesy of CityNet, and live stats can be found on WVUSports.com.

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.