Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Piatczyc Honored Again, WVU Moves Up in Polls
November 06, 2018 02:01 PM | Men's Soccer
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – As the West Virginia University men's soccer team moves up in the national rankings, senior midfielder Joey Piatczyc was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Week for the fifth time this season.
Piatczyc is the third player in MAC history to earn five Player of the Week accolades in a single season, while WVU is the ninth team in the 26-year history of the league to be recognized with six or more MAC weekly accolades in a year.
The Mountaineers move up to No. 12 in this week's United Soccer Coaches poll, No. 15 in the Soccer America rankings, No. 16 in the TopDrawerSoccer.com poll and No. 20 in College Soccer News top-25. WVU is ranked for the second consecutive week and has been ranked in 12 of coach Marlon LeBlanc's 13 seasons. Additionally, West Virginia boasts the No. 14 RPI in the country.
Piatczyc continued his record-breaking senior season with a four-point night in the regular-season finale. In West Virginia's 4-3, overtime win at Northern Illinois on Nov. 3, he scored the Mountaineers' second goal and assisted on the third and fourth, including the game-winning assist in the 97th minute. Both assists came on perfectly-placed free kicks inside the six.
The multi-assist match was the fifth of the season and his career, breaking both the season and career records at WVU, while Piatczyc extended his program-record career assist total to 33. He now has 11 game-winning assists, which ranks No. 2 all-time, and 21 game-winning points, sixth-most in a career in program history.
On the season, Piatczyc's 0.53 assists per game rank No. 5 all-time, his 10 game-winning points are tied for No. 6 and his eight assists are tied for No. 9 in program history.
A Lee's Summit, Missouri, native, Piatczyc ranks No. 9 nationally in 2018 with five game-winning goals and No. 20 with 8 total assists, while he is second in the MAC with 22 points. In league play, Piatczyc paces the MAC with 11 points and two game-winning goals and is second with four goals, 15 shots and eight shots on goal.
Along with his MAC award, Piatczyc was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week for the second consecutive week.
The MAC Player of the Week accolade is the sixth for the Mountaineers this season. Piatczyc also was recognized by the MAC on Aug. 28, Sept. 4, Oct. 16 and Oct. 30, while sophomore goalkeeper Steven Tekesky was honored by the league on Oct. 23.
Piatczyc and the Mountaineers will host the Mid-American Conference Championship at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium this weekend. Semifinals will be held on Friday, Nov. 9, with kickoff set for 2:30 p.m. ET, and 5:30 p.m., while the championship match will be on Sunday, Nov. 11, at 1 p.m. The Mountaineers will play in Friday's second semifinal, at 5:30 p.m. Tickets for the semifinals and championship are on sale now, at WVUGAME.com, by calling 1-800 WVU GAME, or at the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum. Tickets also will be sold on match day at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. One ticket will be good for both semifinal matches on Nov. 9.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Piatczyc is the third player in MAC history to earn five Player of the Week accolades in a single season, while WVU is the ninth team in the 26-year history of the league to be recognized with six or more MAC weekly accolades in a year.
The Mountaineers move up to No. 12 in this week's United Soccer Coaches poll, No. 15 in the Soccer America rankings, No. 16 in the TopDrawerSoccer.com poll and No. 20 in College Soccer News top-25. WVU is ranked for the second consecutive week and has been ranked in 12 of coach Marlon LeBlanc's 13 seasons. Additionally, West Virginia boasts the No. 14 RPI in the country.
Piatczyc continued his record-breaking senior season with a four-point night in the regular-season finale. In West Virginia's 4-3, overtime win at Northern Illinois on Nov. 3, he scored the Mountaineers' second goal and assisted on the third and fourth, including the game-winning assist in the 97th minute. Both assists came on perfectly-placed free kicks inside the six.
The multi-assist match was the fifth of the season and his career, breaking both the season and career records at WVU, while Piatczyc extended his program-record career assist total to 33. He now has 11 game-winning assists, which ranks No. 2 all-time, and 21 game-winning points, sixth-most in a career in program history.
On the season, Piatczyc's 0.53 assists per game rank No. 5 all-time, his 10 game-winning points are tied for No. 6 and his eight assists are tied for No. 9 in program history.
A Lee's Summit, Missouri, native, Piatczyc ranks No. 9 nationally in 2018 with five game-winning goals and No. 20 with 8 total assists, while he is second in the MAC with 22 points. In league play, Piatczyc paces the MAC with 11 points and two game-winning goals and is second with four goals, 15 shots and eight shots on goal.
Along with his MAC award, Piatczyc was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week for the second consecutive week.
The MAC Player of the Week accolade is the sixth for the Mountaineers this season. Piatczyc also was recognized by the MAC on Aug. 28, Sept. 4, Oct. 16 and Oct. 30, while sophomore goalkeeper Steven Tekesky was honored by the league on Oct. 23.
Piatczyc and the Mountaineers will host the Mid-American Conference Championship at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium this weekend. Semifinals will be held on Friday, Nov. 9, with kickoff set for 2:30 p.m. ET, and 5:30 p.m., while the championship match will be on Sunday, Nov. 11, at 1 p.m. The Mountaineers will play in Friday's second semifinal, at 5:30 p.m. Tickets for the semifinals and championship are on sale now, at WVUGAME.com, by calling 1-800 WVU GAME, or at the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum. Tickets also will be sold on match day at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. One ticket will be good for both semifinal matches on Nov. 9.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
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