2021 Season Preview
August 24, 2021 01:36 PM | Men's Soccer
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – No one could have predicted the ups and downs of the Mountaineer men's soccer 2020-21 campaign. That includes the timeline in which it all occurred.
Following a 10-match, spring-only campaign, WVU returns this fall with a point to prove. The quick turnaround has left the Mountaineers little time to look back on their most unusual campaign last spring, and instead force the group to dial in on the new challenges ahead.
With a daunting early-season slate and the always competitive Mid-American Conference, West Virginia has plenty for which to prepare, and lots of motivation to fuel it. With 15 returning lettermen, including 10 of 11 starters, the squad feels it's ready to take on anything and everyone who stands in its way.
"No one owes us anything; it's about what we owe ourselves," second-year coach Dan Stratford said. "We feel like with our returning group and the foundations they laid last spring, and the reinforcements with the nine new players that are coming in, we feel really good about the strength and depth that we're going to have within this squad. You can see that they are feeling pretty comfortable in our environment, and we're hoping their acclimation process comes as quickly as possible, so they are ready to help us at the start of the season.
"The continuity is there. The competition is there. Hopefully, that all continues to help spur on our players."
Here's what you need to know about the Mountaineers heading into the 2021 campaign:
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Following a 10-match, spring-only campaign, WVU returns this fall with a point to prove. The quick turnaround has left the Mountaineers little time to look back on their most unusual campaign last spring, and instead force the group to dial in on the new challenges ahead.
With a daunting early-season slate and the always competitive Mid-American Conference, West Virginia has plenty for which to prepare, and lots of motivation to fuel it. With 15 returning lettermen, including 10 of 11 starters, the squad feels it's ready to take on anything and everyone who stands in its way.
"No one owes us anything; it's about what we owe ourselves," second-year coach Dan Stratford said. "We feel like with our returning group and the foundations they laid last spring, and the reinforcements with the nine new players that are coming in, we feel really good about the strength and depth that we're going to have within this squad. You can see that they are feeling pretty comfortable in our environment, and we're hoping their acclimation process comes as quickly as possible, so they are ready to help us at the start of the season.
"The continuity is there. The competition is there. Hopefully, that all continues to help spur on our players."
Here's what you need to know about the Mountaineers heading into the 2021 campaign:
- West Virginia begins its 61st season of men's soccer on Thursday, Aug. 26, at Robert Morris.
- The Mountaineers, who finished 6-3-1 last spring in Stratford's debut season at the helm of his alma mater, have reached two of the last three NCAA Tournaments. The team won the 2018 MAC regular-season title and 2019 MAC Tournament crown.
- WVU returns all seven of its goal scorers from 2020-21, including senior forward Ike Swiger, who led the squad with four goals last spring. West Virginia combined to outscore its competition, 14-6, last season.
- In goal, fifth-year senior Steven Tekesky returns to Morgantown as one of the most experienced goalkeepers in the country. He begins the season ranked No. 3 in WVU program history in goalkeeper matches played (62) and goalkeeper minutes played (5,596), No. 4 in wins (33), goalkeeper starts (60) and shutouts (20) and No. 6 in saves (165).
- Swiger and Tekesky are two of three returning All-MAC First Team selections from 2020-21. Junior midfielder Luke McCormick also was named to the conference's first team last spring. Fifth-year senior midfielder Pau Jimenez Albelda and fifth-year senior defender Kevin Morris also are back after posting All-MAC Second Team campaigns.
- Morris, a 2020-21 CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team selection, is the squad's most veteran contributor. In four seasons, the Mt. Airy, Maryland, native has logged 62 starts in 71 career matches played. His 6,123 career minutes of action are good for No. 10 in program history.
- Jimenez Albelda, Morris and Tekesky will serve as the Mountaineers' co-captains this season.
- WVU has no shortage of experience, as the group features three fifth-year seniors, six true seniors, three redshirt juniors, three true juniors, four redshirt sophomores and four true sophomores.
- Nine newcomers also join the fold in 2021, including seven international players. Six of the nine first-year Mountaineers are freshmen, while the other three are transfers.
- In all, WVU will be represented by 10 different countries this season.
- Five of the Mountaineers' 14 domestic players hail from West Virginia: senior defender Elijah Borneo (Morgantown), Swiger (Fairmont), junior forward Joseph Biafora (Morgantown), redshirt sophomore midfielder Sam Morgan (Charles Town) and freshman midfielder Max Trethewey (Charleston).
- West Virginia will do battle with five teams who qualified for the 2020-21 NCAA Tournament. Three of the squad's first six matches – No. 3 Pitt (Aug. 30), No. 11 Penn State (Sept. 3), at No. 1 Marshall (Sept. 17) – are against preseason top-15 foes.
- WVU has defeated at least one top-25 opponent in 13 of the last 15 seasons. The group also has notched a top-10 win nine times in the last 13 years, including a victory over eventual National Champion Marshall on March 24, 2021, in Morgantown.
- This season marks the 10th and final MAC campaign for WVU. The program is set to join Conference USA in 2022.
- West Virginia, which will play 10 matches at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium this fall, is an impressive 105-42-19 at home since the facility opened in 2004.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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