Championship Central
2019 Bracket
VIDEO: WVU Sophomore Josh DiMatteo
Thursday's Scoreboard
No. 6 West Virginia 3, No. 2 Western Michigan 2
No. 6 West Virginia 3, No. 2 Western Michigan 2
Box Score
AKRON, Ohio – The West Virginia University men’s soccer team earned a 3-2 win over Western Michigan in the Mid-American Conference Championship Semifinal on Friday afternoon at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field in Akron, Ohio.
Sophomore forward Josh DiMatteo scored a pair of goals for the Mountaineers, while senior defender Albert Andres-Llop added a third on a penalty kick to help WVU advance its first-ever MAC Championship Final on Sunday. The win marked the No. 6-seeded Mountaineers’ second consecutive upset victory in the tournament and pushed their season record to an even 8-8-2.
“We’ve never doubted what we’re capable of doing,” WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. “We’ve lost some really tough, difficult games along the way, but I think the fact that they were so tough, I think the guys realized there’s no one playing us off the park in this run. It has taken a while to get where we’re at, but we’re here, and we have a shot at it. We have a chance.”
West Virginia, which played its way into Friday’s match with a 1-0 win at No. 3-seeded SIU Edwardsville in the quarterfinals on Nov. 12, fought off a pair of chances by WMU (11-6-2) in the opening few minutes before settling in. Then, freshman forward Rodrigo Robles Grajera smashed a shot that was saved with a diving effort by the Bronco goalkeeper in the 11th minute.
The Mountaineers took a 1-0 lead when DiMatteo scored his first of the day in the 24th minute. Freshman midfielder Luke McCormick sent a beauty into the box that DiMatteo headed into the back of the net for his first goal of the season.
Just minutes later, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native added another off a corner kick. DiMatteo got free inside the box and back-heeled a shot that defected off a Western Michigan defender to make it 2-0 in the 27th minute.
Later, senior defender Logan Lucas stood tall on the defensive end, blocking a Bronco attempt in the 40th minute to help WVU maintain the two-goal advantage. The big start allowed the Mountaineers to take the lead into the dressing room for halftime.
In the second half, WVU nearly made it 3-0 when senior midfielder Andres Muriel Albino chipped a shot just over the bar in the 54th minute. Four minutes later, No. 2-seeded WMU, which earned a first-round bye into Friday’s semifinal, got on the board on a header goal to make it 2-1.
In the 66th, sophomore forward Tony Pineda broke free and drew a foul inside the box, earning a Mountaineer penalty kick. Andres-Llop stepped to the stripe and buried his first goal of the year to bump the lead back up to two at 3-1.
WVU continued to fend off the Broncos in their final third until the 86th minute when Western Michigan tallied a goal off a strike from the top of the box. That made it 3-2 with under five minutes to play.
Frantically trying to complete the comeback, WMU earned a corner kick in the final seconds, but it was unable to capitalize, allowing WVU to advance to Sunday’s MAC Championship Final against the winner of No. 1-seeded and tournament host Akron and No. 4 Bowling Green.
Western Michigan outshot WVU, 17-11, including 9-4 after halftime. The Broncos also held a 5-4 edge in shots on goal and earned 12 corner kicks, to WVU’s three. Junior goalkeeper Steven Tekesky made three saves for the Mountaineers, all of them coming in big moments.
McCormick finished with two assists on the day and now has a team-leading seven on the season. Robles Grajera also registered an assist on DiMatteo’s first goal.
With the win, WVU improved to 6-0 on the season when scoring first, 6-1 when scoring multiple goals and 5-2 in one-goal games. The victory also was the Mountaineers’ fourth straight at FirstEnergy Stadium, dating back to a 1-0 win over then-No. 7 Georgetown on Aug. 28, 2016.
Next, West Virginia will play for a MAC Championship title and berth into the NCAA Tournament on Sunday afternoon in Akron. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. ET.
“We’re really looking forward to getting to play on Sunday,” LeBlanc said. “It’s a one-game opportunity to get into the NCAA Tournament.”
