Wednesday, November 8
Orlando, Fla.
7 p.m.
West Virginia University
14-1-4, 5-1-3
2
vs
0
South Carolina
6-9-3, 3-4-2
1
2
F
South Carolina
0
0
0
West Virginia
1
1
2
Mountaineers Shut Out South Carolina to Advance to Sun Belt Final
November 08, 2023 11:22 PM | Men's Soccer
ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 5 West Virginia University men's soccer team secured its spot in the Sun Belt Championship final with a 2-0 victory over South Carolina in the semifinals on Wednesday evening at the UCF Soccer Complex. The Mountaineers improve to 14-1-4, reaching the 14-win plateau for just the fourth time in program history and just one shy of the program record.
West Virginia will play No. 1 Marshall in the championship match on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Hoops Family Field in Huntington, West Virginia.
The win also marked the 100th of head coach Dan Stratford's career, accomplishing the feat in just his seventh season.
As was the case in the quarterfinals, seniors Luke McCormick and Yutaro Tsukada found the back of the net for the Mountaineers. McCormick's goal proved to be the game winner while Tsukada buried a penalty kick for his ninth goal of the season.
Shots were even at nine apiece as were shots on goal with three on each side. The difference was the goalkeeping as senior Jackson Lee stopped all three shots he faced while the Gamecock keeper could only prevent one from getting past him. WVU also had a 5-3 edge in corner kicks.
McCormick put the Mountaineers out in front in the 13th minute, beating his defender to the ball near the end line off a pass from junior Frederik Jorgensen before turning inside and firing a shot near post past the keeper.
Before the half ended, Lee was called upon to make a pair of saves, safely securing the ball on shots in the 30th and 36th minute and not allowing any rebound opportunities.
McCormick nearly doubled WVU's lead in the first minute of the second half, but his shot hit the post. In the 50th minute, the Mountaineers found that second goal as sophomore Marcus Caldeira's shot hit the hand of a Gamecock defender in the box. Tsukada stepped up to the spot and calmly buried his third penalty of the season.
The Mountaineer defense remained strong the rest of the game, only allowing one shot on goal in the second half in which Lee made a stellar one-handed save, securing his eighth clean sheet of the season.
West Virginia will be looking for their sixth conference tournament title in program history on Sunday after winning the SoCon in 1965, 1966, and 1967, the Atlantic 10 in 1992, and the MAC in 2019.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
West Virginia will play No. 1 Marshall in the championship match on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Hoops Family Field in Huntington, West Virginia.
The win also marked the 100th of head coach Dan Stratford's career, accomplishing the feat in just his seventh season.
As was the case in the quarterfinals, seniors Luke McCormick and Yutaro Tsukada found the back of the net for the Mountaineers. McCormick's goal proved to be the game winner while Tsukada buried a penalty kick for his ninth goal of the season.
Shots were even at nine apiece as were shots on goal with three on each side. The difference was the goalkeeping as senior Jackson Lee stopped all three shots he faced while the Gamecock keeper could only prevent one from getting past him. WVU also had a 5-3 edge in corner kicks.
McCormick put the Mountaineers out in front in the 13th minute, beating his defender to the ball near the end line off a pass from junior Frederik Jorgensen before turning inside and firing a shot near post past the keeper.
Before the half ended, Lee was called upon to make a pair of saves, safely securing the ball on shots in the 30th and 36th minute and not allowing any rebound opportunities.
McCormick nearly doubled WVU's lead in the first minute of the second half, but his shot hit the post. In the 50th minute, the Mountaineers found that second goal as sophomore Marcus Caldeira's shot hit the hand of a Gamecock defender in the box. Tsukada stepped up to the spot and calmly buried his third penalty of the season.
The Mountaineer defense remained strong the rest of the game, only allowing one shot on goal in the second half in which Lee made a stellar one-handed save, securing his eighth clean sheet of the season.
West Virginia will be looking for their sixth conference tournament title in program history on Sunday after winning the SoCon in 1965, 1966, and 1967, the Atlantic 10 in 1992, and the MAC in 2019.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Team Stats
USC
WVU
Goals
0
2
Shots
9
9
Shots on Goal
3
3
Saves
1
3
Corners
3
5
Fouls
17
14
Scoring Plays
Luke McCormick (6)
Assisted By: Frederik Jorgensen
GOAL by WVU McCormick, Luke Assist by Jorgensen, Frederik.
12:56
Yutaro Tsukada (8)
WVU Yutaro Tsukada PENALTY KICK GOAL.
49:21
Game Leaders
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's SoccerD
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's SoccerMF
/ Men's SoccerF
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