MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia (2-1) kicked off their home slate with a satisfying 2-1 win over Wright State (1-2).
The Mountaineers entered the match with a bone to pick after losing 3-0 to the Raiders in 2018 in Dayton, Ohio. The win gives West Virginia a 6-4 lead in the two teams’ overall meeting record.
Things got off to a scrappy start with both West Virginia’s Andre Muriel Albino and Wright State’s Hannema Ids getting a yellow card. The Mountaineers kept a cool head, though, ending the first half 2-up on the Raiders.
Muriel Albino netted the opening goal at the 27-minute mark on an assist off Rodrigo Robles Grajera’s boot. It was Muriel Albino’s first of the season. Shortly after, Pascal Derwaritsch picked up his first goal of the year as well, heading in a ball from Albert Andres-Llop. West Virginia maintained the majority of the possession before the half, taking a 13-3 shot and a 5-1 shot on goal advantage.
WVU also had a 5-1 advantage in the corner, and commited five less fouls than the Raiders (11).
Wright State had a much harder time targeting the net, putting just one shot on goal in three total shots.
After the break the Mountaineers continued to control the pace and put pressure on Joel Sundell at the Raiders’ net with Andres-Llop putting the first shot on goal for the Mountaineers in the second half.
Sticking to playing chippy, WSU midfielder Jackson Dietrich was shown the third yellow card of the night in the 61st minute. The foul gave Tony Pineda a free kick, but it soared high. Just over a minute later, Luke McCormick was shown a yellow card. WSU responded by racking up two fouls — their 17th and 18th, respectively.
But that wasn’t it.
Sam Orisatoki was shown a yellow card of his own on a restart just before the Raiders picked up their 21st foul. After a possession trade off at midfield, the Mountaineers broke down the pitch, giving Tsubasa Takada a clear shot. Sundell manuevered for a nice save, though, and after two more shots across the face of the net, the Raiders took advantage of a lopsided field to flood the opposite side.
Playmaker Stefan Rokvic took a ball from Zion Beaton for Wright State’s first goal of the night, halving the WVU lead. It was his third goal of the season and his third against the Mountaineers in his career.
After Josh DiMatteo put a shot into Sundell’s gloves, a hard foul put a WVU player on the ground and both teams in a near scuffle. No card was shown.
Soon after, in a contentious play, DiMatteo went down hard during a WVU possession and was holding his leg through a two-round attack. The referees didn’t call play dead until Wright State took possession, aggravating the Raiders’ sideline.
The physicality didn’t end until the final countdown concluded, but the Mountaineers came away with the hard-fought win nonetheless. When it was all said and done, there were a total of 34 fouls, with WSU garnering 26 of them. Wright State totaled just five shots, three on goal, one corner and two offsides. Sundell ended with six saves.
West Virginia had eight shots on goal out of their 21 total, nine corners and no offsides. Keeper Steven Tekesky entered the matchup ranked No. 2 in the MAC in saves (8) and third in goals against average (.500) and proved why he was leading the conference, adding two more saves to his total.
West Virginia returns to action on Tuesday, hosting Charlotte at 7 p.m.
