MORGANTOWN — Four unanswered goals lifted the No. 17 West Virginia men’s soccer team to a 4-2 victory over LIU Brooklyn in the first round of the NCAA tournament Thursday night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
The Mountaineers (14-6-0) trailed 2-0 nine minutes into the match, but answered with a goal in the 15th minute and the match-tying score in the 35th. WVU took its first lead against the Blackbirds (13-6-1) in the 72nd and added a fourth goal in the 81st to advance to the NCAA Second Round for the seventh time in program history and sixth since 2005.
“We were playing well when we went down 2-0,” WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. “They countered twice and scored two goals, and didn’t really have much of the ball when they did it, but they were effective and efficient when they did it. I think from a coaching standpoint, I’m not happy about the goals that we gave up, especially when we were carrying the run of play at the moment. But, I wasn’t worried, I felt like we were going to score.”
West Virginia’s four goals are tied for its most in an NCAA tournament match. Junior defender Albert Andres-Llop and senior midfielder Joey Piatczyc also tied program NCAA records, with two assists and three points, respectively. Additionally, WVU’s first goal at 14:59 is its quickest score in NCAA Tournament play.
With the win, the Mountaineers advance to the second round to face No. 13-seeded Georgetown on Sunday in Washington, D.C.
On a chilly evening in Morgantown with a mix of sleet and snow, junior midfielder Logan Lucas put the Mountaineers on the board with a goal in the 15th minute, and sophomore forward Tsubasa Takada tied it up 2-2 in the 35th with his first career goal. Senior midfielder Jorge Quintanilla scored his first of the season in the 72nd minute to give West Virginia a 3-2 lead, and Piatczyc made it 4-2 in the 81st.
Andres-Llop’s assists came on the first and third goals. Junior defender Pascal Derwaritsch and Piatczyc assisted on the second, while junior midfielder Ethan Shim joined Andres-Llop with an assist on the game-winning goal.
