WVU concedes three goals in second half, falls to Northern Illinois 4-2 at home

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University men’s soccer team was defeated by Northern Illinois (6-7-1, 1-1 MAC), 4-2, Friday night to mark their second-straight conference loss.

After going into halftime tied at 1-1, the Mountaineers (6-6-1, 0-2 MAC) conceded three goals in the second half.

“It’s so disappointing in regard to how we concede our goals,” WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. “We gift opponents goals. We literally passed the ball right to them on two of their goals today, and our goalkeeper misplayed one on a third goal. Today was about as great as what we’ve played all season long (offensively), but the way we concede goals is (absolutely) shameful.”

Andres Muriel Albino got the Mountaineers on goal early, but it was NIU who would score first in the 32nd minute. Rodrigo Robles Grajera responded 50 seconds later to tie before the half closed.

The Huskies put in their remaining three goals in the 54th, 71st and 89th minutes, while WVU put in its final goal in the 66th minute on a header by Ryan Kellogg — his first of the year.

WVU returns to action on Tuesday, traveling to Washington, D.C., for their final nonconference match of the year against American. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.

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