WVU Defeats No. 5 Michigan State, 1-0
Wednesday's Scoreboard
West Virginia 1, Michigan State 0
Courtesy of West Virginia Sport Information
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (October 11, 2017) – The West Virginia University men’s soccer team upset No. 5 Michigan State, 1-0, on Wednesday night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
The Mountaineers (7-3-3) earned their first win over a top-10 team since a 1-0 victory against No. 7 Georgetown in last season’s opening weekend. The win was WVU’s first over a top-10 opponent at home since a 2-0 triumph over No. 1 UConn in 2011.
The Spartans (9-2-2), ranked No. 1 in the NCAA RPI and in the top 12 in all four major polls, were shut out for just the second time this season. West Virginia held MSU to a season-low-tying two shots on goal in the contest.
“It feels good,” WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. “It was a fantastic performance from start to finish. All of the credit goes to my guys, they were fantastic. I told these guys two days ago we were going to win this game tonight and they believed.”
Sophomore Albert Andres-Llop netted the game-winner in the 51st minute. It was his team-leading fifth goal of the season, while junior Jorge Quintanilla assisted on the goal, registering his team-best fifth assist of the year.
MSU out-shot WVU 10-5, but West Virginia held a 3-2 advantage in shots on goal. Freshman keeper Steven Tekesky made one save, while the Mountaineer defense cleared another shot off the line. Michigan State keeper Jimmy Hague stopped two shots.
Andres-Llop’s game-winning goal came at 50:02. Junior Rushawn Larmond took the ball around a defender and into the 18 on the far side, where he centered to senior Louis Thomas. Thomas’ shot was blocked, but the deflection went right to Quintanilla just inside the 18. He made the quick pass to Andres-Llop, who fired the ball on goal from the penalty kick mark and beat the Michigan State keeper.
Andres-Llop, Thomas and sophomore Sebastian Garcia-Herreros all had shots on goal in the contest. Sophomore Logan Lucas and freshman Kevin Morris registered shots for the Mountaineers in the upset victory.
Mid-American Conference play continues this weekend when WVU travels to Bowling Green on Saturday, Oct. 14. Kickoff at Cochrane Stadium in Bowling Green, Ohio, is set for 7 p.m. ET.
