MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia men’s soccer team settled for a 0-0 draw against No. 12 Charlotte on Tuesday night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
In a physical match that featured 16 shot attempts for the Mountaineers and three red cards for the 49ers, the two squads were unable to find the back of the net in the 110 minutes of play.
“We were very, very good tonight,” WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. “Give Charlotte credit for breaking the game up and making it hard for us to find rhythm and tempo. I think that probably affected the attack more than anything else. When the game is constantly being stopped because of fouling and cards, it’s hard to get into a rhythm. That was the game plan and give them credit for a good game plan. They fought hard, and they got a result out of it. We’ll never be a team that celebrates not winning, but at the end of the day, it’s a good result against a team that’s going to have a very good RPI.”
After the Mountaineers (2-1-1) and 49ers (3-0-1) combined to register just one shot attempt in the opening 15 minutes of play, WVU earned a tough-angled free kick from just outside the box. However, WVU couldn’t capitalize with a shot on net.
In the 32nd minute, senior midfielder Andres Muriel Albino hammered a shot from the corner of the penalty area, but the attempt was saved by Charlotte goalkeeper Elliot Panicco. Charlotte went on to outshoot WVU, 3-2, in the first half before a wild second half commenced.
Senior defender Albert Andres-Llop almost put West Virginia on the board when his free kick forced a diving stop by Panicco in the 58th minute. From there, the 49ers had a player sent off in the 78th minute, before a second player earned his second yellow card of the night and left the match in the 84th minute.
Then, junior goalkeeper Steven Tekesky came up with a big save, as he pushed aside a wide-open shot from a charging 49er attacker to keep the match scoreless with under five minutes to go in regulation. But it wasn’t until a shot by Andres-Llop hit the post in the 90th minute did the match head to overtime.
Tekesky finished with two saves. Panicco had three.
WVU registered four more shots as a team in the first overtime period and one in the second, but it was unable to crack the nine-man Charlotte defense for the golden goal.
In all, the Mountaineers outshot Charlotte, 16-9, including 3-2 in shots on goal, in the contest. The 49ers held a 10-4 advantage in corner kicks. Additionally, Charlotte earned its third red card of the night — given to the 49ers’ bench — before the first overtime period.
Next up, WVU concludes its three-match homestand at 7 p.m. Friday when the Mountaineers host No. 15 Coastal Carolina at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
