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HUNTINGTON - Jacob Redenfors scored his first goal of the season in the 62nd minute and Toby Mawer came up with a major save six minutes later, as No. 21 West Virginia salvaged a 1-1 draw against Marshall in the 32nd Mountain State Derby on Sunday night.
The Mountaineers (5-1-2, 1-0-1 Sun Belt) are 1-1-3 against their in-state rivals over the last five matches, but it was Marshall who scored first inside Hoops Family Field.
The Thundering Herd (4-1-3, 1-0-1) were held to just two shots in the opening half, but Carl Romberg took one of them and shot it into the bottom left of the net off his right foot in the 25th minute.
WVU came back in the second half, when Civan de Jesus Ferreira took a free kick and found Redenfors to his right. Redenfors took a couple of dribbles into the box before firing a left-footed shot that snuck just inside the near post.
Mawer came up with two saves for the Mountaineers, none of them were bigger than the one he came up with in the 68th minute. Off a deep throw in, Marshall's David Cho had a scoring opportunity in the bottom right of the net, but Mawer came up with the save.
WVU's final chance at breaking the tie came in the 86th minute, as junior defender Tristan Pusztahegyi led a rush forward and left the ball off for teammate Sammie Walker, but his shot was deflected and went just wide.
West Virginia outshot Marshall, 11-7, and had a 5-3 edge in shots on goal. WVU also had the advantage in corner kicks, taking seven compared to three for the Herd, while fouls were even at 13.
The Mountaineers return to the pitch at 7 p.m Saturday, when No. 1-ranked South Carolina visits Dick Dlesk Stadium.
It will be the ninth time in the program's history WVU has played against the No. 1-ranked team in the country. WVU is 3-5 in the previous eight matches.