MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men's soccer team plays its first home game of the regular season on Friday, Aug. 31, against American. Kickoff at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium is set for 7 p.m. ET.
 
Friday night's contest is Dollar Night, with tickets and select concession items available for just $1. It also is the first Friday Night Happy Hour, from 6-7 p.m., with beverages not included in the Dollar Night promotion half-off. As part of Friday Night Happy Hour, a DJ will play for fans in the picnic area at DDSS. Additionally, the first 250 fans will receive a free WVU jersey koozie.
 
Tickets | Live Stream | Live Stats | Twitter
 
Tickets are available at WVUGAME.com or by calling 1-800 WVU GAME. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance by visiting WVUGAME.com to avoid lines at the gate on game day. Tickets for WVU students are free with a valid student I.D.
 
To provide a safer environment for Mountaineer fans and to expedite entry into all ticketed WVU athletic events, the West Virginia Department of Intercollegiate Athletics enforces the NFL's Clear Bag Policy. The athletic department invites and encourages fans to visit WVUsports.com/clearbag for more information, to view pictures of permissible and non-permissible items and to obtain answers to frequently asked questions about the clear bag policy.
 
The match will be streamed live for free on WVUsports.com/Watch and the WVU Gameday App, while live stats also will be available. Fans also can watch the video streams live via Roku and Apple TV, by searching for the "West Virginia Mountaineers" channel. Direct links to the video stream and live stats can be found on the men's soccer schedule page on WVUsports.com. Additional updates, news and notes will be available on social media by following and connecting with @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
 
"All these games are the same, they're all important, they all mean something," WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. "But our approach is no different than it was last week for tomorrow. ... We'll tell them that they're going to be organized, they're going to be up for the game, which they will be. It's a good opponent, a long-time, very good head coach, and a team that'll be motivated to play at West Virginia University for sure."
 
The Mountaineers (1-1) begin their 2018 home slate having won six of their last seven home openers and have outscored the opposition 13-4 in those contests. Receiving votes in this week's United Soccer Coaches rankings, WVU owns a 50-21-7 mark in Morgantown since 2010.
 
The Eagles (1-1) come to West Virginia for the second time in three seasons. West Virginia is 5-1-1 all-time against American, including a 3-0 home win in 2016 and a 3-0 victory in Washington D.C. last season.
 
Senior midfielder Joey Piatczyc leads the team with three points, scoring a goal and adding an assist in WVU's season opener. He is tied for No. 5 nationally with one game-winning goal. His assist on Friday gives him 26 in his career, the second-most in program history and one shy of tying the program record of 27, set by Dan Stratford from 2004-07.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Steven Tekesky is second on the Mid-American Conference with eight saves and a .889 save percentage. His one shutout on the season is tied for No. 11 in the country.
 
SCOUTING AMERICAN
American is 1-1 on the season, with a 2-1 victory at home against George Mason last Friday and a 6-0 loss at George Washington on Monday.
 
Fabio Massaro and Jerry Zouantcha have one goal on the season, and Massaro has a team-high-tying five shots. Lucas Manso is 1-1 in goal and has made three saves.
 
Todd West is in his 19th season as the head coach of American. With a 165-143-47 record, he has guided the Eagles to three NCAA Tournaments, including a trip to the third round in 2001. West has been named the Patriot League Coach of the Year four times, and his squads have won seven PL titles.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE EAGLES
WVU is 5-1-1 all-time against AU, following back-to-back 3-0 wins in 2016 and 2017. The series began with a 5-1 road loss in 1988, and the Mountaineers have won four of the last five. West Virginia posted a 2-0 road win in 2005, followed by a 2-0 home victory in 2012. A scoreless draw followed in 2013 before a pair of 3-0 wins, at home in 2016 and on the road in 2017.
 
Last year in Washington D.C., current Mountaineer Albert Andres-Llop led the Mountaineers with a goal and the game-winning assist, while Sebastian Garcia-Herreros and Spenser Myers also earned assists. Andres-Llop assisted on West Virginia's first goal, in the 21st minute, and scored two minutes later, in the 23rd. In goal, Stephen Banick made two saves in 65 minutes in goal as WVU posted the shutout.
 
In the 2016 victory, Rushawn Larmond scored WVU's second goal, with an assist to Joey Piatczyc.
 
UP NEXT: FRIDAY AT UCF
West Virginia is back on the road for a pair of matches, beginning on Friday, Sept. 7, at UCF. Kickoff in Orlando is set for 7 p.m. ET. After a contest at Maryland on Monday, Sept. 10, the Mountaineers return home to host St. Francis (Pa.) on Saturday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m., at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. Tickets are available at WVUGAME.com or by calling 1-800 WVU GAME.
 
LAST TIME OUT: OPENING WEEKEND
The Mountaineers opened the 2018 season with a 2-0 victory at the College of Charleston on Friday night. Piatczyc and junior midfielder Ethan Shim scored for WVU, both in the second half, while Piatczyc also assisted on Shim's goal. Shim's goal was the first of his career. Tekesky made two saves in the win.
 
On Sunday, WVU suffered a 1-0 loss to UNC Wilmington to close out play at the Aaron Oltsky Memorial Soccer Classic in Charleston, South Carolina. WVU held an 18-13 advantage in shots, but a UNCW goal in the eighth minute was the difference. Junior Andres Muriel Albino led the team with five shots and two shots on goal. Tekesky made a career-best six saves, while UNCW's keeper stopped all seven shots on goal.
 
PIATCZYC CHASING RECORDS
Senior midfielder Joey Piatczyc is climbing up the record books in several statistical categories. He holds the program record for assists per game in a career, with 0.48, while he ranks No. 2 all-time with 26 assists and 11 game-winning assists. He also is tied for No. 3 with three multi-assist games.
 
Piatczyc's 26 assists in his career are the second-most in program history and one shy of tying the program record of 27, set by Dan Stratford from 2004-07.
 
Stratford also owns the WVU record for game-winning assists, with 13, while he and Andy Bevin (2011-14) share the program record for multi-assist games, with four.
 
In 2015, Piatczyc's 13 assists as a sophomore set a new program record and was No. 2 in the country. He had a program-record-tying  five game-winning assists that season and had two multi-assist matches, tied for third-most all-time. Piatczyc set the team record with four assists in a single match on Aug. 30, vs. San Francisco.
 
As a freshman in 2014, Piatczyc tied for the team lead, was second in the MAC and No. 14 in the nation with eight assists. That total tied for No. 8 in program history at the time and currently ranks No. 9.
 
This season, Piatczyc was named the season's first MAC Player of the Week on Aug. 28, after he had a goal and an assist to lead the Mountaineers to a 2-0 victory at the College of Charleston on Friday night in the season opener. Piatczyc scored the game-winning goal in the 51st minute and added an assist on WVU's second goal in the 72nd minute.
 
The game-winning goal came on a free kick from approximately 30 yards out that hit the top-left post and bounced in.
 
Also named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, Piatczyc was recognized with a MAC weekly accolade for the first time in his career. His three-point performance in the opener was his first match back after missing the 2017 season with an injury.

WVU soccer scarf ticket packages and single match tickets are on sale now at WVUGAME.com or by calling 1-800 WVU GAME. The scarf ticket package includes a scarf and 10 tickets to be used at any men's or women's soccer match during the 2018 regular season. Packages are just $30 and are available while supplies last. With the exception of Dollar Nights, single match tickets are $5 each and $3 for groups of 10 or more when purchased in advance at WVUGAME.com. At the Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium ticket window, tickets will be $7 for adults, $5 for youth and seniors and $3 for groups. The discounted online pricing will be available until kickoff of the match. Tickets for WVU students are free with a valid student I.D.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.