WVU men’s soccer beats James Madison, secures regular season Sun Belt title
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West Virginia men's soccer had a lot on the line heading to James Madison on Tuesday night. A win and WVU secured the Sun Belt Conference regular season title, but a draw or a loss and the No. 9 team in the country’s postseason status was out of its hands.
With James Madison sticking around down 1-0 into the 64th minute, junior defender Civan de Jesus Ferreira decided he didn’t want to wait around and headed in a goal from inside the box to put the game out of reach for the Mountaineers.
The German defender handed the Mountaineers a valuable three points, helping in the 2-0 win over the Dukes in the final game of the regular season Tuesday night at Sentara Park. With the three points, WVU finished the regular season with 20 points in the Sun Belt Conference for a joint regular season league title. This was the Mountaineers first Sun Belt regular season title since 2024 and fourth in program history.
"I thought we were brave in the way we played," head coach Dan Stratford said on the ESPN+ broadcast. "We talked about trying to win it our way, and playing the West Virginia way. Not letting the occasion get the better of us."
WVU was tied with in-state rival Marshall heading into the night at 17. The Thundering Herd also won their matchup, 3-0 over Old Dominion, so they too have 20 points. Since both have 20, WVU and Marshall will share the regular-season conference championship, but since the Mountaineers lead in goal differential, they will have the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. Marshall is the No. 2 seed.
WVU, at 10-2-4 overall and 6-12 in the conference, takes a five-game winning streak into the postseason as the No. 1 seed. The postseason will start on Sunday, Nov. 8, when WVU hosts the No. 8 seed at 3 p.m. ET. The Mountaineers are looking for their sixth conference tournament championship and first since 2024.
"Nice to know we'll be playing at home," Stratford said. "We'll see what we have on Sunday in the quarterfinal and get prepared. Move on pretty quick from this. But a really pivotal moment."
The advantageous postseason position wouldn't have been possible without de Jesus Ferreira's 64th-minute goal, which killed the spirits of James Madison, who fell to 7-6-4 on the season and 4-2-3 in the conference. The Dukes, who were third in the Sun Belt heading into the match, put up a solid fight, looking for an equalizer. James Madison had seven shots on goal, but just couldn't tie it and pull off the upset.
WVU's goalkeeper Toby Mawer was much more active than a few days ago against Coastal Carolina. He secured his sixth-straight shutout, riding a lot of momentum in the postseason.
It didn't help that the Dukes were playing uphill almost the entire game. WVU was on the board early in the first half with a goal from its top goal scorer, senior forward Pablo Pozos. This is Pozos' first goal with the team since transferring from Wingate after the 2024 season.
Pozos received a beautiful cross and bounced it off the ground high enough to catch the right post and in for the early 6th-minute goal. The senior scored his seventh goal of the season.
"A lot of emotions going on," Pozos said. "It's my first title here with West Virginia, and very happy. Very happy for the guys."
WVU's offense had plenty more chances to add to its lead, even in the final seconds. The Mountaineers had 15 shots and six shots on goal. WVU won four corners. The two goals were enough to capture the vital three points.
This team has come a long way since the start of the season. WVU started the season banged up and injured, losing to Charlotte 3-0 in the season-opener. Then, the team was upset by Old Dominion in Sun Belt play on Oct. 9, 2-1. Everything was looking down for the program.
The Mountaineers have won all four games since and are riding a five-game win streak going into the postseason.
"It hasn't been an easy season for us," Pozos said. "A lot of new guys. We didn't start the right way with a 3-0 loss at Charlotte. I think we put a lot of work together… I think we deserve this trophy."