Mountaineers and Hawks Play to Scoreless Draw

Monday, September 4

Morgantown, W.Va.

3:30 p.m.

West Virginia University

3-0-1

Monmouth

2-1-1

OT 3

OT 4

Monmouth

West Virginia

Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks

September 04, 2017 08:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score Photo Gallery Season Stats

By: Charlie Healy

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 19 West Virginia University men's soccer team played to its first draw of the season, 0-0 against Monmouth on Monday afternoon at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

With the tie, the Mountaineers (3-0-1) extended their season-opening unbeaten streak to four matches, while their winning streak was snapped at three games.

WVU had 14 shots, three on goal, while the Hawks (2-1-1) recorded seven shots, two on goal. Junior goalkeeper Stephen Banick made two saves while notching his third clean sheet of the season. Monmouth keeper Bobby Edwards made three saves in the tie.

"We played well enough to win the game," WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. "Monmouth was compact, they defended, put numbers behind the ball and we made it very difficult to break down. We had chances, but were just wasteful with them today. That said, it's another clean sheet for our team. Though we weren't really troubled very much in this game, it's still important that we find clean sheets. We are disappointed not to find the goal, but there are going to be games like that, where teams are prepared to defend against you. That's what happened today."

Junior Jorge Quintanilla led the team with four shots, one on goal. Junior Rushawn Larmond led WVU with two shots on goal, and he was one of four Mountaineers with two shots,

West Virginia's first chance came in the sixth minute, when sophomore Albert Andres-Llop sent a long ball into the box, but the Monmouth keeper was able to punch the ball away amidst traffic outside of the six.

The Mountaineers had a great chance in the 11th minute, when senior Steven James had two consecutive shots blocked, and Larmond's shot on the rebound was saved. Five minutes later, Larmond had a long shot from 25 yards out, but his second shot on goal of the match was saved.

Monmouth's first chance came in the 20th minute, when Banick made the save on a close-range shot on the far side.

In the 33rd minute, sophomore Pascal Derwaritsch had an opportunity on a chance off a corner kick from senior Jad Arslan, but his shot from the edge of the 18 was blocked.

Monmouth nearly took a 1-0 lead in the 54th minute on a header inside the six, but the chance off the corner kick went just high over the crossbar and Banick's outstretched hands.

Quintanilla had an opportunity from 25 yards out in the 68th minute, but the shot went right to the Monmouth keeper.

With two minutes left in regulation, Bannick made a save on a header inside the six off a corner kick to keep it a 0-0 contest.

WVU had two chances in the first overtime, the first when Quintanilla's shot went wide in the 93rd minute, and again a minute later when Arslan nearly won it with a shot off the post.

Arslan came inches away from winning it in the second overtime, but his shot from a tight angle on the right side went just wide of the left post.

The Mountaineers return to action against UCF on Saturday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m. ET, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. Admission will be free for all fans, courtesy of WVU Medicine. The game comes after the WVU football team hosts East Carolina at noon.

Single game tickets for all 10 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 Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.