MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men's soccer team begins NCAA Tournament action, Thursday evening, with a first-round matchup against North Florida. Kickoff from Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium is set for 5 p.m.
Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance by visiting
WVUGAME.com or calling 1-800-WVU GAME. WVU student tickets also will be made available at the Mountaineer Ticket Office, located at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. The office, as well as the stadium gates, opens at 4 p.m., on game day. WVU students are admitted for free with a valid WVU Student I.D.
Nick Farrell and Adam Zundell will have the call of Thursday's contest on
ESPN+. The game also can be heard on
91.7 FM (WWVU) in Morgantown, and live stats are available at
NCAA.com.
The Mountaineers enter the NCAA Tournament fresh off winning the Sun Belt Championship on Sunday against Marshall. The two teams played to a scoreless draw before WVU won 6-5 in a penalty shootout. With the tournament title, the Mountaineers clinched the Sun Belt double, having also won the regular season title.
West Virginia took home numerous Sun Belt postseason awards with graduate student
Sergio Ors Navarro claiming Sun Belt Player and Offensive Player of the Year while head coach
Dan Stratford was named Coach of the Year. Ors Navarro, graduate student
Ryan Baer, and graduate student
Max Broughton were all named to the All-Sun Belt First Team while junior
Marcus Caldeira and redshirt-senior
Marc Bonnaire earned spots on the second team.
Ors Navarro was also named the Sun Belt Tournament Most Outstanding Performer after scoring two goals. Senior
Carlos Hernando, junior
Felix Ewald, and senior
Otto Ollikainen also earned spots on the All-Tournament Team.
The Mountaineers have a dangerous attack, averaging 15.80 shots per game and lead the country with 7.25 corner kicks per contest. Ors Navarro is fourth in the nation with 14 goals and sixth with 32 points.
North Florida is 7-7-4 overall and won the ASUN after defeating FGCU in the semifinals and Central Arkansas in the final, winning 4-3 on penalties after a 3-3 draw.
Joaquin Acuna leads UNF with 10 goals and 21 points while Rentaro Miyakawa has a team-high eight assists. Luciano Natoli has made 35 saves this year with four shutouts between the pipes.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on
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Instagram.