MORGANTOWN — For the fourth time under head coach Dan Stratford and the 17th time overall, the WVU men’s soccer team has been selected to play in the NCAA tournament.
The Mountaineers (12-4-3), ranked No. 17 in the latest coaches’ poll and 21st in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), earned an at-large bid and will host St. John’s (9-5-4) at 7 p.m. Thursday inside Dick Dlesk Stadium.
The winner of that match will advance to the second round and travel to face No. 7-seed High Point (N.C.) on Sunday.
Like the Mountaineers, St. John’s earned an at-large bid, but the Red Storm are no strangers to the NCAA tournament.
St. John’s is making its 23rd trip to the NCAA tournament and won a national championship in 1996. The Red Storm finished the regular season 3-1-1 over their final five matches and also played to a 1-1 draw with Marshall earlier in the season. St. John’s top scorer is Brazilian midfielder Guilherme Gomes, who has eight goals and 18 points on the season.
St. John’s is ranked 42nd in the RPI.
For a second consecutive season, the Mountaineers were denied a national seed, despite being nationally ranked throughout the regular season.
WVU finished second in the Sun Belt during the regular season, but lost to Marshall 3-2 in overtime in the conference tournament semifinals.
WVU forward Marcos Caldeira was named the Sun Belt Player of the Year and will enter the NCAA tournament with 10 goals and 27 points on the season. For his career, Caldeira has 38 career goals. WVU forward Pablo Pozos leads WVU with 11 goals on the season.
High Point (13-1-4) is ranked No. 9 in the coaches’ poll and played to a 2-2 draw against West Virginia on Sept. 23. The Panthers are ranked 11th in the RPI.
