Late Winner Helps WVU Earn 500th Program Win

Thursday, October 28

Morgantown, W.Va.

3:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

9-2-4, 2-1-1

Georgia State

10-5-0, 2-3-0

Georgia St.

West Virginia

October 28, 2021 06:55 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score Season Stats

By: Joe Mitchin

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men's soccer team used a pair of second-half goals to take down Georgia State, 2-1, on Thursday afternoon at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

Trailing by a goal early in the second half, redshirt junior midfielder Dyon Dromers tied the match at 1 with a highlight-reel goal, before sophomore forward Ciro Bourlot Jaeggi tallied a late game-winner for the Mountaineers. The win marked the 500th in program history for a team that began play in 1961.

"We had a very different halftime talk," WVU coach Dan Stratford said. "It was more about continuing to trust what we were doing and have a lot of belief from what we created in the first half. I thought we got into some really good areas.

"We need to get back to keeping some clean sheets. That needs to be part of our identity. We want to limit those mistakes. But we showed some great resilience to come back in the face of adversity and win the game late."

The Mountaineers (9-2-4, 2-1-1 MAC) went down a goal in the 25th minute when the Panthers (10-5, 2-3 MAC) capitalized on a penalty kick to make it 1-0. GSU went on to hold a 4-2 edge in first-half shots and took a one-goal lead into the locker room for halftime.

In the second half, WVU found the equalizer, thanks to Dromers' big goal in the 59th minute. The Steensel, Netherlands, native took a shot from distance and kissed the right post for his second goal of the campaign. Freshman defender Frederik Jorgensen was credited with the assist on the tally.

Thursday marked Dromers' first game action since Sept. 3, against Penn State.

"What an amazing comeback story," Stratford said of Dromers. "In his first game back after such a long time, to come on and get the equalizer in the fashion that he did – we all know he's capable of that, so no one was surprised on our sideline, but I bet that was a pretty special feeling for him."

From there, the Mountaineers were able to find the winning goal in the 89th minute, when sophomore midfielder Ryan Crooks sent a cross into the box, which was met by Bourlot Jaeggi's diving effort to head it into the back of the net.

The finish marked the Santa Fe, Argentina, native's fourth goal of the year, including his second in as many games. It also resulted in his second straight game-winning goal.

WVU also had two goals waved off in the win. First, a Mountaineer foul eliminated a 10th-minute tally before another goal was called back in the 53rd due to offside. Still, the Mountaineers finished with a 13-6 advantage in shots on the day, including 6-3 in shots on goal. What's more, WVU earned seven corner kicks, to Georgia State's zero.

Junior midfielder Luke McCormick led the way for West Virginia with four shots, while fifth-year senior goalkeeper Steven Tekesky made two saves.

With the win, the Mountaineers improved to 2-0 all-time against Georgia State. Thursday marked the first time WVU had played the MAC newcomer since 2013. Additionally, West Virginia improved to 7-0-2 at home this season.

Fifth-year senior defender Kevin Morris played all 90 minutes in the affair, marking the co-captain's 86th career appearance for the Gold and Blue, good for the most in program history. He topped the previous WVU-best mark of 85 matches set by Stratford and Mike Anoia from 2004-07.

Next up, the Mountaineers hit the road to take on their second-straight new MAC foe in Georgia Southern on Sunday, Oct. 31, in Statesboro, Georgia. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET.

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