MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 8 West Virginia University men's soccer team shut out No. 6 Georgia Southern, 2-0, Saturday night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. The Mountaineers improve to 7-1-2 and 3-0-0 in the Sun Belt while the Eagles fall to 8-1-1 and 2-1-0 in conference play.
 
It is the highest ranked win for WVU since defeating No. 1 Marshall in 2023 and the second ranked win of the season along with a victory over No. 22 George Mason earlier this year.
 
Graduate student Carlos Hernando and senior Marcus Caldeira each scored for the Mountaineers with graduate student Bryce Swinehart and sophomore Isaac Scheer both collecting assists. Graduate student Marc Bonnaire made three saves for his fifth shutout of the season.
 
The Mountaineers outshout the Eagles, 12-9, with a 6-3 edge in shots on goal. West Virginia also had an 8-2 advantage in corner kicks, controlling the game with 60% of the possession.
 
In the 23^rd minute, Caldeira went down in the box and after a VAR review, the Mountaineers were awarded a penalty. Hernando stepped up the spot and easily scored into the lower right corner of the net.
 
Just about a minute later, Georgia Southern had its best chance of the match as Mitch Picksley had space and fired a point-blank shot, but Bonnaire was there to deflect it away with his shoulder.
 
West Virginia had a couple chances early in the second half to extend its lead before finally doing so in the 72^nd minute. Scheer had the ball around midfield and turned before sending it to Swinehart up the field. Swinehart then immediately sent the ball into the box for Caldeira, who placed it into the open net.
 
Bonnaire had to make just one more save in the 88^th minute to secure the shutout.
 
The Mountaineers will be back on the pitch on Friday, Oct. 10, at Coastal Carolina. Kickoff from Conway, South Carolina is set for 7 p.m. ET.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.