Sports, WVU Sports

West Virginia men’s soccer team falls to Akron 1-0

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia men’s soccer team concluded its season with a 1-0 loss to Akron on Thursday on a cold, rainy field at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

Despite holding a 12-5 advantage in shots, including 4-1 in shots on goal, the Mountaineers were unable to find the back of the net against the Zips. A 72nd-minute goal by Colin Biros was the difference in the contest.

“Akron is a good team; they scored a good goal,” WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. “At the end of the day, they had one shot on goal and scored on it. That’s been the story of our season. We’ve been really, really good all season long, but I just said to the guys that there are no moral victories.

“I don’t think our record is reflective of the team we are. We are seriously shorthanded at the moment, but we don’t take any excuses from it. Our guys played great tonight, we’ve played great even during this stretch of losing. We’ve just been incredibly unlucky.”

The two teams combined for just three total shots in the opening 30 minutes of the match, before senior forward Ethan Shim fired the night’s first shot on goal in the 34th. Just before the half, sophomore forward Tony Pineda had a great chance at a goal, as he found himself loose inside the box. The Statesville, N.C. native’s attempt was cleared off the line for a Zips’ team save.

WVU and Akron remained scoreless after 45 minutes.

The Mountaineers created two more dangerous chances to start the second half in the 53rd minute. First, Pineda had another shot saved, before Shim headed one over the bar.

Freshman midfielder Luke McCormick was next up in an effort to find the Mountaineers (6-8-2, 0-4-1 MAC) a breakthrough. However, his free-kick attempt in the 66th minute sailed high.

Then, Akron (6-9-2, 4-0-1 MAC) took the lead off a header goal.

Trailing, the Mountaineers continued to press forward on their offensive end.

WVU nearly found the equalizer in the 84th minute off a corner kick that created a large scrum in front of the goal. Junior defender Kevin Morris struck a header off the post, which created a frenzy between both sides.

Still, WVU was denied a match-tying goal, just minutes before the clock reached the fulltime.

Up next, WVU begins postseason play with a quarterfinal match in the MAC tournament Tuesday. The opponent is yet to be determined.

“We’re very, very close,” LeBlanc said. “I think this team thinks we’re capable of winning the conference tournament. Hopefully, if we can do it on Tuesday, then clearly this team is capable of a run.”