NEWARK, Del. — The West Virginia men’s soccer team fell to Delaware, 1-0, on Monday night at Stuart & Suzanne Grant Stadium in Newark, Del.
The Mountaineers faced an early deficit after the Blue Hens scored a 20th-minute goal and were unable to earn the equalizer in the road loss.
WVU (1-1) created several chances in the second half, earning all five of its shots on goal after halftime. However, the Mountaineers couldn’t find the back of the net.
“At the end of the day, players win games and coaches lose them, and I didn’t put the right team on the field and have them ready to play,” WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. “(Delaware) outworked us and outfought us. We had a lot of chances and balls we have to finish — good teams are able to do that. But I have to do a better job with having my team ready to play.”
WVU fought off an early Delaware (1-1) chance in the 16th minute when a shot off a free kick was blocked and then saved by junior goalkeeper Steven Tekesky. Moments later, though, the Blue Hens took the lead when a loose ball inside the box was taken from 10 yards out for the goal.
The Mountaineers almost drew even six minutes later when senior midfielder Andres Muriel Albino sent a dangerous cross into the box. But the Delaware goalkeeper was there to make a play on the ball to stop the WVU attack.
In the second half, Tekesky kept the score at 1-0 when he came up with a strong save in the 49th minute against a charging Blue Hens’ forward. The Raymore, Mo., native made five saves in the loss.
West Virginia registered a big opportunity when junior forward Tsubasa Takada went down in the 69th minute, which led to a penalty kick. Still, the Mountaineers couldn’t get their breakthrough as the penalty was denied, again keeping the match at 1-0.
Then, it was sophomore forward Tony Pineda’s turn to try to find a goal. He sent a shot just wide, deflecting off the Blue Hen keeper, in the 80th minute, before a frantic, loose ball inside the box with just seconds to play was pushed away to end the Mountaineers’ comeback attempt.
The two squads finished even in shots, 8-8, while the Blue Hens held a slight 6-5 advantage in shots on goal. Corner kicks also were even at four apiece.
WVU returns to Morgantown for its home opener at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday, against Wright State.
