Box Score WASHINGTON, D.C. – Three different players scored goals as the West Virginia University men's soccer team beat American, 3-0 on Tuesday afternoon.
On a warm, sunny afternoon at Reeves Field in Washington D.C., the Mountaineers (5-1-2) scored twice in the less than three minutes in the first half and never looked back. Freshman
Tom Shepherd and sophomore
Lucca Barbaris scored their first career goals, while sophomore
Albert Andres-Llop netted his fourth of the season, all coming in the last three games.
The defense held the Eagles (1-6-1) to eight shots, four on goal, as junior goalkeeper
Stephen Banick made two saves in 65 minutes. Senior
Jose Santos came in with the Mountaineers ahead 3-0, and also had two saves in the final 25 minutes to preserve West Virginia's fifth shutout of the season.
"We jumped out to an early lead, it's the first time in a few games we've been able to do that," WVU coach
Marlon LeBlanc said. "That's been a focus of ours the last couple of days in preparation. Getting back to, one, scoring the first goal and two, getting the shutout. We were able to accomplish both today."
In the final match of a season-long three game roadtrip, WVU had 13 shots, nine on goal. Senior
Jad Arslan, who had an assist, led the team with three shots, while junior
Jorge Quintanilla had a team-best two shots on goal. Andres-Llop led the team with three points, recording a goal and an assist.
Shepherd gave the Mountaineers a 1-0 lead at 20:04. The header from inside the six came off a free kick by Andres-Llop. It was Shepherd's first career goal and point.
Andres-Llop made it 2-0 two minutes later, at 22:28. The play began with Andres-Llop, who passed it to senior
Jad Arslan. After dribbling it into the box and to the corner of the six, Arslan passed back to Andres-Llop, who scored from six yards out.
It became a 3-0 match early in the second half, at 53:14. Near the far corner after a pass from freshman
Spenser Myers, sophomore
Sebastian Garcia-Herreros sent the ball in to Barbaris, who's first shot hit the post. From his back, Barbaris connected on the rebound to the first goal of his career. Myers earned his first career assist on the play.
American had the first two chances of the game, but Banick made his first save in the seventh minute, and the next chance went wide. Banick made another save in the 14th on a shot from the near edge of the box.
After Arslan's shot was saved in the 19th minute, the Mountaineers converted in the 21st minute and again in the 23rd, thanks to Shepherd and Andres-Llop.
Quintanilla's two chances came in the 29th minute, but both shots, the second coming off a rebound, were saved. Sophomore
Ryan Kellogg also had a ball saved in the 37th minute.
Barbaris' goal opened the second half in the 54th minute, and the WVU defense followed with a blocked shot a minute later.
Santos entered the match in the 65th minute, and faced several shots and chances in the opening 10 minutes, but made two saves to keep the shutout alive.
The Mountaineers return home to host Dayton on Saturday, Sept. 23, with kickoff at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium set for 7 p.m. Tickets are available at
WVUGAME.com, 1-800-WVU GAME or on game day at the DDSS ticket office.
It is Youth Soccer Day, and all youth who wear their youth soccer jersey will receive free admission. Additionally, the first 500 fans in attendance will receive a foam WVU soccer ball. Before the match, members of the men's soccer team and staff will hold a youth clinic.
Single game tickets for all of WVU's regular-season home matches are now on sale at
WVUGAME.com or by calling 1-800-WVU GAME. The complete 2017 WVU men's soccer schedule, with match times, can be found
here. All dates and times are subject to change, and fans are encouraged to stay tuned to WVUSports.com for updates.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on
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Instagram.