MORGANTOWN – A first-half goal from Tiago Campos proved decisive Wednesday as No. 13 Gardner-Webb handed the sixth-ranked West Virginia men’s soccer team a 1-0 defeat at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, snapping the Mountaineers’ 32-match home unbeaten streak.
Campos struck in the 14th minute, finishing a sequence that began with Samson Kpadreh’s run into the box and a back-heel pass from Robbie Lyons. His shot sailed into the upper-right corner, past WVU goalkeeper Marc Bonnaire.
Bonnaire later denied Kpadreh from the penalty spot to keep the deficit at one. The Mountaineers pressed for an equalizer throughout the second half, creating chances through Pablo Pozos, Marcus Caldeira and Carlos Hernando, but were unable to break through against Bulldogs goalkeeper Alan Horrocks, who made three saves.
“I just said to the guys sometimes you can do enough to feel like you deserve to come away from the game with something and it just doesn’t quite fall the right way,” Stratford said. “I’m sure I’m going to watch back some really near misses and goal mouth moments that didn’t quite find the back of the net. But in terms of the response, intensity we tried to play with, perseverance we had throughout the majority of the game, I was relatively happy with the first half. We got punished for a couple naive moments, but outside of that, I thought it was collectively a pretty good performance. “
West Virginia (2-1-1) saw its home unbeaten streak end at 32 matches, a run that dated back to September 2022. The result also marked Gardner-Webb’s (4-0) first victory over a top-10 opponent in program history.
“We have to take it on the chin. We have to recognize that the way that we lose is important as well,” Stratford said. “We need to be humble and gracious. I wasn’t naive enough to think we’d never lose again at Dick Dlesk. There was going to be a day, and they’re a good team. They showed some qualities and obviously have some dangerous players.”
WVU head coach Dan Stratford said he was encouraged by his team’s intensity and response despite the result.
“We got punished for a couple of naive moments,” Stratford said. “But outside of that, I thought it was collectively a pretty good performance.”
Stratford also noted frequent stoppages slowed the match’s pace and hindered his team’s momentum.
“Frustrating because we outlasted them and showed a better level of conditioning,” Stratford said. “Difficult, but a cramp isn’t an injury. It’s a lack of conditioning. Every time the game stops, it stifles our momentum. They get treatment and a moment to recover and the momentum and energy that we have above them, we’re not able to utilize favorably. To be clear, that’s not Gardner-Webb’s fault. That’s a fundamental flaw in how the referees deal with those issues. But it can’t be good for the game either. It’s way past my bedtime.”
Bonnaire recorded four saves in the loss. The contest ended with a brief post-match altercation, which resulted in a yellow card to Gardner-Webb’s Leo Andrade and a red card to reserve goalkeeper Amar Dzonlic.
