Tuesday, October 8
Chapel Hill, N.C.
7:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
at
North Carolina
Mountaineers Ready for North Carolina Road Trip
October 07, 2019 02:53 PM | Men's Soccer
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 23-ranked West Virginia University men's soccer team returns to the road to take on No. 20 North Carolina on Tuesday, October 8, at Dorrance Field at the UNC Lacrosse & Soccer Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET.
Fans can follow along with the match with a live stream, courtesy of ACC Network Extra. Live stats also are available at GoHeels.com.
"Year in and year out, North Carolina is one of the most talented teams in the country, and this year is no different," WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. "We expect this to be a big challenge, but we're looking forward to getting down to Chapel Hill and playing a great team. Hopefully, we can come back home with a result."
Tuesday's match marks the second meeting between the Mountaineers and Tar Heels. UNC holds a 1-0 advantage in the series, winning the only previous meeting on Aug. 31, 2012, in Chapel Hill.
WVU (6-3-1) is coming off a 4-1 loss to No. 25 San Diego on Oct. 4, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown. The Toreros opened the scoring in the 17th minute, before adding a pair of goals in the 33rd.
In the second half, sophomore forward Tony Pineda cut into the deficit in the 80th minute, marking his second goal of the season, to make it 3-1. From there, though, USD added a fourth goal in the final moments of the contest.
Senior defender Albert Andres-Llop earned the assist on Pineda's tally.
The Mountaineers enter the nonconference tilt ranked No. 1 in the MAC in corner kicks, with 64, averaging 6.4 per match. The Mountaineers also rank No. 2 in the conference in shots, with 133, a 13.3 per game average. WVU also is tied for No. 2 in the MAC in goals (18).
Individually, senior midfielder Andres Muriel Albino is No. 2 in the Mid-American Conference and tied for No. 30 nationally in goals (6). He's also No. 2 in the league in points (13) and tied for No. 4 in shots on goal (11). Freshman midfielder Luke McCormick sits is a tie for No. 2 in the league in assists, with 4.
North Carolina (6-2-2) is led by ninth-year coach Carlos Somoano, who holds a mark of 127-32-34 with the Tar Heels. Somoano has guided all eight of his previous teams at UNC to the NCAA Tournament.
The Tar Heels are coming off a pair of victories last week. On Oct. 1, North Carolina took down UNC-Wilmington, 2-0, at home, before winning at Pitt, 2-1, on Oct. 4.
UNC was slotted No. 20 in last week's United Soccer Coaches poll, as well as No. 16 in the most recent College Soccer News Top 30, which was released on Monday. Junior forward Alex Rose leads the team with five goals on the year and is tied with senior forward Jelani Pieters with 12 points on the year. Senior midfielder Mauricio Pineda is North Carolina's leader in shots (34) and shots on goal (17), while sophomore goalkeeper Alec Smir has 22 saves and four individual shutouts.
North Carolina is the Mountaineers' seventh opponent in the last nine matches to enter with a winning record. UNC also is WVU's fourth ranked opponent this season, with the Mountaineers holding a 1-1-1 record against top-25 foes.
West Virginia is 3-0 in matches following a loss or tie this season.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Fans can follow along with the match with a live stream, courtesy of ACC Network Extra. Live stats also are available at GoHeels.com.
"Year in and year out, North Carolina is one of the most talented teams in the country, and this year is no different," WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. "We expect this to be a big challenge, but we're looking forward to getting down to Chapel Hill and playing a great team. Hopefully, we can come back home with a result."
Tuesday's match marks the second meeting between the Mountaineers and Tar Heels. UNC holds a 1-0 advantage in the series, winning the only previous meeting on Aug. 31, 2012, in Chapel Hill.
WVU (6-3-1) is coming off a 4-1 loss to No. 25 San Diego on Oct. 4, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown. The Toreros opened the scoring in the 17th minute, before adding a pair of goals in the 33rd.
In the second half, sophomore forward Tony Pineda cut into the deficit in the 80th minute, marking his second goal of the season, to make it 3-1. From there, though, USD added a fourth goal in the final moments of the contest.
Senior defender Albert Andres-Llop earned the assist on Pineda's tally.
The Mountaineers enter the nonconference tilt ranked No. 1 in the MAC in corner kicks, with 64, averaging 6.4 per match. The Mountaineers also rank No. 2 in the conference in shots, with 133, a 13.3 per game average. WVU also is tied for No. 2 in the MAC in goals (18).
Individually, senior midfielder Andres Muriel Albino is No. 2 in the Mid-American Conference and tied for No. 30 nationally in goals (6). He's also No. 2 in the league in points (13) and tied for No. 4 in shots on goal (11). Freshman midfielder Luke McCormick sits is a tie for No. 2 in the league in assists, with 4.
North Carolina (6-2-2) is led by ninth-year coach Carlos Somoano, who holds a mark of 127-32-34 with the Tar Heels. Somoano has guided all eight of his previous teams at UNC to the NCAA Tournament.
The Tar Heels are coming off a pair of victories last week. On Oct. 1, North Carolina took down UNC-Wilmington, 2-0, at home, before winning at Pitt, 2-1, on Oct. 4.
UNC was slotted No. 20 in last week's United Soccer Coaches poll, as well as No. 16 in the most recent College Soccer News Top 30, which was released on Monday. Junior forward Alex Rose leads the team with five goals on the year and is tied with senior forward Jelani Pieters with 12 points on the year. Senior midfielder Mauricio Pineda is North Carolina's leader in shots (34) and shots on goal (17), while sophomore goalkeeper Alec Smir has 22 saves and four individual shutouts.
North Carolina is the Mountaineers' seventh opponent in the last nine matches to enter with a winning record. UNC also is WVU's fourth ranked opponent this season, with the Mountaineers holding a 1-1-1 record against top-25 foes.
West Virginia is 3-0 in matches following a loss or tie this season.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Soccer
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