Men's Soccer Goes Undefeated on Saturday Night
Saturday’s Scoreboard
West Virginia 2, Delaware 0
Bowling Green 2, Valparaiso 1
SIUE 2, Belmont 0
Stories Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
West Virginia 2, Delaware 0
Box Score
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A pair of second-half goals by junior defender Ryan Kellogg led the West Virginia University men's soccer team to a 2-0 victory over Delaware on Saturday night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
Kellogg recorded his first two-goal game of his career as the Mountaineers (6-4) shut out the Blue Hens (2-7) for their fourth clean sheet of the season. WVU improved to 4-1 at home this year and is unbeaten in 15 of its last 19 nonconference contests in Morgantown.
"It wasn't a whole lot to fix, it was just our inspiration, our motivation," LeBlanc said of WVU's response following Tuesday night's loss. "It was our not thinking we were going to show up and win games because of what we did in the games prior. We competed tonight and I thought it was a really, really good performance and we scored a couple of really good goals."
Kellogg led the Mountaineers with three shots and two shots on goal. His first career multi-goal game gives him three goals this season and four in his career. Kellogg's first goal came in the 62nd minute, and his second came less than 10 minutes later, in the 71st. His game-winning goal was the second of his career.
Kellogg's first goal, at 61:19, was a header from six yards out. The play began at the far side with junior midfielder Sebastian Garcia-Herreros, who beat a defender and passed to sophomore forward Spenser Myers. At the edge of the box near the end line, Myers sent a ball into the box for Kellogg, who crashed the net and headed it in on the near side.
WVU took a 2-0 lead nine minutes later, at 70:21, off the foot of Kellogg. Garcia-Herreros again earned an assist, as he passed to sophomore midfielder Nic Short, who quickly passed back to Garcia-Herreros near the corner of the box. Garcia-Herreros dribbled up and passed the ball in to Kellogg, who was waiting near the penalty kick mark. Kellogg converted into the far corner to double WVU's lead.
"Ryan has been someone who we have depended on every single year since day one when he got here as a freshman," LeBlanc said. "Those are two really glassy finishes that he made look easier than what they were. The ball Spenser Meyers fired across to him that he put his head on was not an easy finish, and then the fantastic combination play that set up the second goal. As easy as it looked, he really had to be composed and he did a great job slotting it in. He was in the right spot, which is the most important thing on both of those goals. He got to the correct spots, and that second goal was absolutely fantastic. It was so great that he got to finish it off, and that is probably one of the better goals you will see in college soccer. It was a fantastic finish, it was so simple but it was everything that happened that built into it."
Both teams had nine shots in the match, while WVU had six shots on goal to UD's three. Sophomore goalkeeper Steven Tekesky had three saves in the victory.
The Mountaineers had a 6-4 advantage in shots in the first half, with three shots on goal to the Blue Hens' one.
WVU had several chances early, but could only get one shot off, which went high by junior midfielder Ethan Shim in the 11th minute. Off a corner kick in the 23rd minute, sophomore defender Kevin Morris had a chance on a header, but his ball went high.
Tekesky's lone save of the half came in the 35th minute, an easy stop that was followed by a blocked shot by the WVU defense. West Virginia closed the half with two chances in the final five minutes, as Myers had an opportunity that was saved from 20 yards out, while senior forward Rushawn Larmond also had a shot saved.
Kellogg's goal in the 62nd minute opened the second half, and he made it 2-0 10 minutes later.
Tekesky preserved the shutout with a nice save following WVU's goal, and again in the 84th minute.
West Virginia's homestand concludes with a matchup against Binghamton on Tuesday, Oct 2, at 7 p.m. ET, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
Bowling Green 2, Valparaiso 1
Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Senior Tate Robertson scored a pair of first-half goals as the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team downed Valparaiso University, 2-1, Saturday evening (Sept. 29). The non-conference match was held at Cochrane Stadium.
Robertson's two goals came just over seven minutes apart. He converted a cross from sophomore Vinny Worner at the 9:43 mark to put the Falcons ahead for good, then doubled the lead with a shot from the top of the 18 with 17:04 elapsed.
Lucca Lacerda's perfectly-placed free kick cut the BG advantage to a single goal with 10 minutes left in the half, but junior goalkeeper Anthony Mwembia and the Falcons would not let the Crusaders get the equalizer.
Each team fired 12 shots on the night, and the Falcons had a narrow 8-6 advantage in shots on goal. Mwembia made five saves en route to the win, while Valpo 'keeper Nacho Miras had six stops on the night.
SIUE 2, Belmont 0
Box Score
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE men's soccer improved to 11-0 in Homecoming games with a 2-0 win over Belmont in front of 3,918 fans Saturday night at Korte Stadium.
It is a special night for SIUE not just our soccer program but the whole school," SIUE Head Coach Mario Sanchez said. "For us to be a part of it I couldn't be more honored for our guys. Thank you to all the Cougar fans for the great night and we got to go home with another win."
SIUE improved to 6-1-2 with the win. Belmont dropped to 2-6-1 with the loss.
Lachlan McLean put SIUE on top in the 22nd minute with his fourth goal of the season. McLean hit a low left-footed shot from near the top of the box to put the Cougars on the board.
"Lachlan scored a great goal," Sanchez said. He has been playing really well but hasn't gotten the goals, he's gotten the assists. I know Lachlan enjoyed getting that goal and he deserved it. I thought he was one of our standout players tonight."
The Cougars took the 1-0 lead into the second half. SIUE withstood a fast start from Belmont in the second half, but didn't relent.
Sander Heieren and Ado Jahic connected for the second Cougar goal in the 76th minute. Heieren tracked down the ball near the end line, just keeping it in play and put to the top of the six yard box. Jahic, settled and then hit a shot into the top netting for his first goal for SIUE.
"The guys coming off the bench are getting better and better," Sanchez said. "I am really happy for Sander and Ado. They have worked really hard and have earned their minutes. They were key for us."
Goalkeeper Noah Heim and the SIUE defense earned their fifth shutout of the year.
"Johan (DePicker) had a great game," Sanchez said. "Noah Fetter continues (to play well) and Jack Edwards continues (to play well). Noah Heim had one of his more solid games."
The Cougars return to the road for a Tuesday night game at IUPUI before starting Mid-American Conference play next weekend at home.
"On the road we have been very good," Sanchez continued. "The standard we have set for our road games has been great and we're looking forward to getting back at it."
