Wednesday, November 9
Lexington, Ky.
7:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
at
Kentucky
Photo by: Logan Adams
Mountaineers Battle Kentucky for Spot in SBC Final
November 08, 2022 03:47 PM | Men's Soccer
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men's soccer team continues play at the 2022 Sun Belt Men's Soccer Championship with a semifinal matchup at No. 2 Kentucky on Wednesday, Nov. 9. Kickoff at the Bell Soccer Complex in Lexington, Kentucky, is set for 7 p.m. ET.
Â
Fans can follow along with all the action with live stats, found on WVUsports.com. The match also will be aired on ESPN+, and can be heard on 91.7 FM in Morgantown.
Â
Wednesday's match marks just the third all-time meeting between the No. 4-seeded Mountaineers (7-6-4, 3-1-4 Sun Belt) and the top-seeded Wildcats (12-0-5, 5-0-3 Sun Belt), including the second this season. The two schools played to a thrilling, 3-3 draw on Oct. 15, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown.
Â
WVU is looking for its first-ever win over UK, which holds a 1-0-1 edge in the series.
Â
The winner of Wednesday's match moves on to play in the Sun Belt Championship Final against the winner of the league's other semifinal matchup, featuring No. 3 Georgia State and No. 7 James Madison, on Sunday, Nov. 13, at a site to be determined.
Â
Last time out, the Mountaineers earned a 1-0 win over fifth-seeded Coastal Carolina in the Sun Belt Quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon in Lexington. Freshman forward Marcus Caldeira scored the game-winning goal in the 70th minute off an assist from fifth-year senior forward Adam Burchell.
Â
In goal, junior goalkeeper Jackson Lee made three saves, including a critical denial in the 84th minute to preserve the WVU lead.
Â
The result marked West Virginia's first conference-tournament victory in the coach Dan Stratford era. It also extended the squad's current unbeaten streak to eight matches.
Â
The Mountaineers have scored 18 goals in the last seven matches. The team has found the back of the net at least three times in five of those fixtures.
Â
Redshirt senior midfielder/defender Dyon Dromers and Caldeira co-lead the squad with five goals each. Caldeira also is tied with junior midfielder Ryan Crooks for No. 1 on the team in total points (14).
Â
West Virginia is 20-17-3 all-time in conference tournament play. The squad has won five tournament titles, most recently in 2019, when WVU took home the Mid-American Conference Championship crown.
Â
Overall, Stratford is 25-12-11 with the Mountaineers, as well as 86-16-16 in his head-coaching career.
Â
Kentucky is led by 11th-year coach Johan Cedergren, the 2022 Sun Belt Coach of the Year. UK, the No. 1 seed in the SBC Championship, is ranked as high as No. 2 in this week's United Soccer Coaches poll, its highest ranking in program history.
Â
The Wildcats won the Sun Belt regular-season championship after posting a 5-0-3 mark in league play. The squad took down No. 8-seeded South Carolina, 2-1, in its quarterfinal match.
Â
UK is ranked inside the nation's top 10 in a variety of offensive categories, including goals (No. 7 – 43). Five Wildcats have tallied five or more goals this season, led by Eythor Bjorgolfsson's nine tallies, while Nick Gutmann is the nation's leader in assists, with 14.
Â
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Â
Fans can follow along with all the action with live stats, found on WVUsports.com. The match also will be aired on ESPN+, and can be heard on 91.7 FM in Morgantown.
Â
Wednesday's match marks just the third all-time meeting between the No. 4-seeded Mountaineers (7-6-4, 3-1-4 Sun Belt) and the top-seeded Wildcats (12-0-5, 5-0-3 Sun Belt), including the second this season. The two schools played to a thrilling, 3-3 draw on Oct. 15, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown.
Â
WVU is looking for its first-ever win over UK, which holds a 1-0-1 edge in the series.
Â
The winner of Wednesday's match moves on to play in the Sun Belt Championship Final against the winner of the league's other semifinal matchup, featuring No. 3 Georgia State and No. 7 James Madison, on Sunday, Nov. 13, at a site to be determined.
Â
Last time out, the Mountaineers earned a 1-0 win over fifth-seeded Coastal Carolina in the Sun Belt Quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon in Lexington. Freshman forward Marcus Caldeira scored the game-winning goal in the 70th minute off an assist from fifth-year senior forward Adam Burchell.
Â
In goal, junior goalkeeper Jackson Lee made three saves, including a critical denial in the 84th minute to preserve the WVU lead.
Â
The result marked West Virginia's first conference-tournament victory in the coach Dan Stratford era. It also extended the squad's current unbeaten streak to eight matches.
Â
The Mountaineers have scored 18 goals in the last seven matches. The team has found the back of the net at least three times in five of those fixtures.
Â
Redshirt senior midfielder/defender Dyon Dromers and Caldeira co-lead the squad with five goals each. Caldeira also is tied with junior midfielder Ryan Crooks for No. 1 on the team in total points (14).
Â
West Virginia is 20-17-3 all-time in conference tournament play. The squad has won five tournament titles, most recently in 2019, when WVU took home the Mid-American Conference Championship crown.
Â
Overall, Stratford is 25-12-11 with the Mountaineers, as well as 86-16-16 in his head-coaching career.
Â
Kentucky is led by 11th-year coach Johan Cedergren, the 2022 Sun Belt Coach of the Year. UK, the No. 1 seed in the SBC Championship, is ranked as high as No. 2 in this week's United Soccer Coaches poll, its highest ranking in program history.
Â
The Wildcats won the Sun Belt regular-season championship after posting a 5-0-3 mark in league play. The squad took down No. 8-seeded South Carolina, 2-1, in its quarterfinal match.
Â
UK is ranked inside the nation's top 10 in a variety of offensive categories, including goals (No. 7 – 43). Five Wildcats have tallied five or more goals this season, led by Eythor Bjorgolfsson's nine tallies, while Nick Gutmann is the nation's leader in assists, with 14.
Â
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Wednesday, September 30
Wednesday, September 30
Wednesday, September 30
Wednesday, September 30
