Big Second Half Propels WVU Over Ohio State

Tuesday, September 24

Columbus, Ohio

7:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

5-2-1, 0-0-0

Ohio State

5-3-0, 0-1-0

West Virginia

Ohio State

September 24, 2019 10:43 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score Season Stats

By: Joe Mitchin

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The West Virginia University men's soccer team used three second-half goals to help it take down Ohio State, 4-1, on Tuesday night at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

After leading 1-0 at halftime, the Mountaineers conceded a goal in the 50th minute before responding with three unanswered goals in the victory. Senior midfielder Andres Muriel Albino tallied a pair of goals to help WVU improve to 5-2-1 on the year.

"It was a fantastic effort from the group," WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. "I have an incredible amount of praise for the team for coming out tonight and the performance we put on – on the road – against a very, very good Ohio State team. Scoring four goals tonight, for us to break out of that little funk that we got ourselves into the last game and to come out here in the fashion that we did was a reward for the effort the guys put in."

Senior defender Albert Andres-Llop nearly put the Mountaineers ahead early when he smacked the post seven minutes in on a shot from distance. Later, West Virginia grabbed its first lead in the 18th minute when it was awarded a penalty kick, which was cashed in by Muriel Albino.

Four minutes later, Ohio State (5-3) almost found the equalizer on a chance inside the Mountaineer box but the flag went up for an offside to keep the match at 1-0.

In the 35th minute, junior forward Tsubasa Takada sent a screamer over the goal, tallying one of the Mountaineers' six first-half shots.

West Virginia led, 1-0, after 45 minutes.

In the second half, though, the Buckeyes wasted little time making their impact on the match. OSU scored on a header inside the box off a corner kick to tie the match at 1-1, but the Mountaineers responded in a big way just three minutes later. Junior defender Kevin Morris fired a shot that was deflected in front of the goal and in for an own goal to put WVU back in front.

Five minutes later, Muriel Albino scored his second of the night after a nice run down the pitch. The Sevilla, Spain, native found space and shot from the left corner of the box and beat the Buckeye keeper far post to put WVU up 3-1.

West Virginia put the finishing touches on the road victory in the 63rd when freshman midfielder Luke McCormick registered his first career goal off an assist from sophomore forward Tony Pineda. After McCormick received the pass, he slashed across the box to curl one around the Buckeye keeper.

With the win, the Mountaineers improved to 3-1 on the road this season. It also was WVU's third multi-goal performance in its last four matches.

WVU outshot Ohio State, 12-8, including a 5-2 edge in shots on goal. The Buckeyes recorded five corner kicks to West Virginia's four.

Next up, West Virginia returns to Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium to host Penn on Saturday, Sept. 28. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET.

The contest is the International Student Appreciation Game and the first 250 fans will receive a stadium horn to help cheer on the Mountaineers.

For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.