WVU's Piatczyc Breaks School Assist Record in Win
Friday's Scoreboard
West Virginia 5, American 1
Northern Illinois 1, Houston Baptist 0
Bowling Green 0, Wright State 0 2OT
SIUE 1, Princeton 0
Stories Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
West Virginia 5, American 1
Box Score
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (August 31, 2018) – Senior midfielder Joey Piatczyc had three assists to break the school record for career assists to lead the West Virginia University men’s soccer team to a 5-1 victory over American on Friday night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
Piatczyc assisted on the first goal for the Mountaineers (2-1) to tie the record for career assists in the 20th minute, and broke the record with an assist on WVU’s third goal in the 48th minute. He added an assist on West Virginia’s fourth goal, in the 72nd minute.
Piatczyc’s 29 career assists breaks the record of 27, set by Dan Stratford from 2004-07. Piatczyc also owns the school record for assists per game, with 0.53, and shares the school record with four multi-assist matches, while he ranks No. 2 all-time with 11 game-winning assists.
After missing the 2017 season due to an injury, Piatczyc has four assists and a goal in the Mountaineers’ first three games of the 2018 season.
“He’s putting the country on notice right now,” WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. “The kid was away for a year, and he’s been forgotten about. We can be sure that he’s not forgotten about anymore. He’s the best player in the country, in my opinion. This season will hopefully prove to be that when he leads us into some more wins over the next few games and through the rest of the year. I think the kid’s big time. He’s a piece of class out there. He has that soccer sense and the ability to manipulate the defense, and at the same stage, put guys in certain positions. That’s what he did this evening.”
Along with his career records, Piatczyc’s 13 assists in 2015 as a sophomore set a new program record and was No. 2 in the country, while he broke the team record with four assists in a single match on Aug. 30, vs. San Francisco.
“It’s an honor,” Piatczyc said. “It’s an even bigger honor because I know the guy beforehand (Dan Stratford), and he was an incredible player, and he can still play. So, it’s incredible, and I couldn’t be more thankful for all the forwards who have done it for me. All the way from Andy Bevin to Ryan Cain, to Jamie Merriam, to Jad (Arslan) and now to Rushawn (Larmond), who did it for me on the last one. Those are the guys who have done it for me.”
In its home opener, WVU’s offense was not limited to just Piatczyc. Junior defender Pascal Derwaritsch and junior midfielder Ethan Shim both scored a career-high two goals. Shim notched the first goal of the night in the 20th minute, and Derwaritsch’s first was the eventual game-winner on a penalty kick in the 27th minute. Senior forward Rushawn Larmond also scored for the Mountaineers.
West Virginia out-shot the Eagles (1-2) 21-8, with a 13-4 advantage in shots on goal. WVU held a 9-3 edge in corner kicks. In goal, sophomore Steven Tekesky made three saves for the Mountaineers, while American’s Lucas Manso had eight saves.
“We played well, again tonight,” LeBlanc added. “I thought we played well last weekend against Wilmington (in a 1-0 loss), I thought we deserved a little bit more of a game. I think that probably lit the fuse underneath the guys this weekend. It was a heck of a performance, a heck of an offensive output. I’m not happy with the goal we conceded, because that was a mistake. But I think we’re a fun team to watch right now. We’re going to keep things in perspective though, and we’ll look forward to the challenge next weekend.”
Northern Illinois 1, Houston Baptist 0
Box Score
EDINBURG, Texas -- Senior Kevin Rodriguez (Pasadena, Texas/Deer Park) scored his first goal of the season and junior Konrad Dziedzic (Schiller Park, Ill./West Virginia) recorded his second shutout of the year as the Northern Illinois University men's soccer team earned a 1-0 victory over Houston Baptist on Friday afternoon at the Rio Grande Valley Invitational.
Rodriguez scored in the 26th minute and the Huskie defense did not allow a shot on target as they improved to 2-1 on the season, Houston Baptist fell to 1-1-1.
"Especially in the first half, we were pretty dominant, creating a lot of good chances and seeing a lot of the ball," said NIU head coach Ryan Swan. "We were very good and probably should have scored a couple goals (in the first half). In the second half, (Houston Baptist) came out a lot more physical and direct, they had control of the game for a little bit but I never felt we were really in danger. After we weathered the early storm we looked good again and, again, should have scored a couple more goals."
It took NIU less than three minutes to test Houston Baptist goalkeeper Jorge Cabrera as a shot from junior Jan Maertins (Rheinfelden, Germany/Marquette) forced a save in the early going.
In the 20th minute, the Huskies had another chance as sophomore Alex Welch (Carmarthen, Wales/King's College Madrid) fired a shot that required a stop from Cabrera.
Rodriguez had his first sight of goal in the 25th minute, whistling a shot just high. Just a minute later Rodriguez broke the deadlock. Freshman Anthony Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) slipped the ball into the feet of Rodriguez on the left side of the box and the Huskie senior fired a shot past Cabrera to put the Huskies in front.
The goal was the sixth for Rodriguez in his NIU career while Markanich recorded his second assist in just his third collegiate game.
After the interval, Houston Baptist had a shot from Malik Key in the 56th minute, but it was blocked by the NIU defense. It was the only shot Houston Baptist was credited with in the contest.
"Defensively, the whole team did their job," said Swan. "We managed it very well, we limited Houston Baptist to no real clear-cut opportunities so it was a very good defensive effort."
Just past the hour mark, NIU had a pair of opportunities to double its advantage as junior Irvin Dominguez (Frisco, Texas/Richland College) saw his chance saves and moments later Markanich sent a shot wide right.
In the 71st minute, Welch had a chance that was saved by Cabrera. Dominguez was denied by the Houston Baptist goalkeeper in the 73rd minute and freshman Nick Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) was denied in the 78th as NIU continued to threaten.
Another chance from Nick Markanich was saved in the 81st minute and Rodriguez saw his chance for a second goal stopped in the 83rd minute but the Huskies would not need another goal as they came away with the 1-0 victory.
NIU will play its second game of the weekend on Sunday, Sept. 2, when the Huskies meet tournament host Texas Rio Grande Valley. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Bowling Green 0, Wright State 0
Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team and Wright State University battled to a scoreless draw on Friday night (Aug. 31). The double-overtime non-conference match was held at Cochrane Stadium.
Junior Anthony Mwembia made two saves as he and the Falcon defense earned the clean sheet.
More information will be available later tonight.
SIUE 1, Princeton 0
Box Score
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE men's soccer remained unbeaten on the season, picking up a 1-0 victory over Princeton Friday at Korte Stadium.
The win was the second in a row for the Cougars, who improved to 2-0-1 on the year. Princeton, playing its first game of the season, is now 0-1.
"This was a great test for us," SIUE Head Coach Mario Sanchez said. "Full credit to Princeton they came out as we thought they would, fighting and battling."
Joergen Pettersen netted his first goal as a Cougar with a free kick just over two minutes into the second half. The kick came from the left side not more than 30 yards from goal. Pettersen hit a curling ball which bounced in the six-yard box before slipping past Princeton goalkeeper Jacob Schachner.
"I thought the first half was up and down," Sanchez said. "To come out the way we did in the second half was really positive."
SIUE had a chance to make it 2-0 in the 62nd minute when the Cougars were awarded a penalty kick. Keegan McHugh took a low hard shot, but Schachner made a diving save to his left to keep the score at 1-0.
The Cougar defense earned its second straight shutout, as did goalkeeper Noah Heim.
"To hang on and shut the game down the last 10 minutes very effectively was great to see," Sanchez added. "Last year we gave up too many goals, especially late and now already we have two shutouts on the season. I thought Noah Heim made some good, key decision for us in the goal."
SIUE also continued to showcase its depth. Sanchez and the staff used 10 substitutions throughout the game.
"(Depth) is going to be a strength of ours so we're going to use it," Sanchez said. "Sometimes as a player that's hard. Guys deserve to play and they're training well so we have to reward them. Tonight with the heat, humidity and Princeton coming at us it was very effective to have our bench."
The Cougars outshot Princeton 12-5, marking the second straight game SIUE has outshot its opponent.
SIUE now has a week off before welcoming Wisconsin (Friday) and Grand Canyon (Sunday) to Edwardsville.
"Those are two teams that are big and very athletic," Sanchez remarked. "It will be a great weekend for us."
