NORFOLK, Va. – The No. 5 West Virgina University men's soccer team opened Sun Belt play on Saturday evening with a 1-0 victory at Old Dominion. The Mountaineers improve to 5-0-2 while the Monarchs fall to 4-3-1.
 
Junior Ethan Dekel Daks scored the lone goal of the game, his first as a Mountaineer. Sophomore Sam Nyenka collected the assist for his first-career point.
 
Redshirt senior Marc Bonnaire made three saves in goal to record his fourth shutout of the season.
 
The Mountaineers outshot ODU, 9-8, with a 4-3 edge in shots on goal. West Virginia also had a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks.
 
The first half was controlled by the Monarchs as they outshot WVU, 4-1, and had three corner kicks compared to none for the Mountaineers. Nevertheless, the game remained scoreless at the break.
 
In the second half, West Virginia took control, outshooting ODU, 8-4, with all seven of its corner kicks.
 
The Mountaineers broke through in the 54^th minute as ODU turned the ball over to Nyenka, who found Dekel Daks to his right. The Nottingham, England native took a shot on his first touch at the edge of the box, firing the ball past the diving keeper and into the corner of the net.
 
West Virginia had a few more chances in the game to extend the lead, but senior Otto Ollikainen's shot went just high in the 60^th minute while in the 85^th minute, the Mountaineers had an opportunity for an open net, but a pass from junior Marcus Caldeira intended for graduate student Sergio Ors Navarro was just out of reach.
 
Old Dominion had one last hope in the 90^th minute with a cross into the box, but senior Max Trethewey cleared the ball away to put an end to the threat.
 
The Mountaineers will return home on Friday, Sept. 27, to take on Kentucky. Kickoff from Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium is set for 7 p.m.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.