Pablo Pozos’ eighth goal of the season rescued a point for West Virginia, as the Mountaineers salvaged a 2-2 draw at home against No. 9 High Point on Monday.
The Mountaineers now find themselves ranked in the top 10 nationally, having avoided defeat in four consecutive matches. West Virginia saw its three-match winning streak snapped by the undefeated Panthers, but simultaneously ended High Point’s two-match win streak.
The result served as a good measuring stick for the Mountaineers (5-1-2), given the quality of High Point’s schedule. The Panthers also tied in-state rival No. 4 Marshall by the same score line, suggesting that Dan Stratford’s men are right there with the top teams in the nation. West Virginia’s lone defeat came to No. 15 Gardner-Webb, and it owns a Top 25 win over No. 25 George Mason.
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This match initially looked like it could become another feather in West Virginia’s cap, as High Point opened the match with a terrible mistake. The Panthers sent the opening kickoff out of play, opening things for Bryce Swinehart to find Juan Alvarez on the throw. Alvarez fed Felix Ewald, who opened the scoring just 16 seconds into the contest.
However, High Point answered quickly and flipped the match on its head. Beau Yantz, normally not part of the Panthers’ attack, set up Brendan Krueger’s equalizer in the sixth minute and provided the penultimate touch to leading scorer Daniel Lugo in the 19th. Suddenly, West Virginia had to chase the match, historically not a great spot for the Mountaineers.
Mountaineer Men’s Soccer Grinds Out a Result
West Virginia kept up its pressure by forcing chances and making High Point keeper Josh Caron work. In the first half alone, the Mountaineers took 11 shots and put six of them on frame, forcing Caron to turn aside five of them.
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The Mountaineers finally solved Caron in the 71st minute by earning a corner kick. Ethan Dekel Daks sent the ball to Pozos, who found the mesh for the eighth time this season. Pozos’ total leads the Sun Belt Conference, and he has now scored in four consecutive matches.
The result proved a big step forward for West Virginia, as this is the type of team the Mountaineers are likely to see deep into the NCAA tournament. Zach Haines’ side has gone out in the second round in three of the past four NCAA tournaments, and the Mountaineers will likely find themselves needing to come from behind in the postseason. Responding the way they did will pay dividends in the future.
Sun Belt Slate Ahead for Mountaineers
West Virginia now faces mostly Sun Belt league games. There’s one more non-league game with American, but that won’t move the needle. From here on out, any challenge will come within the league.
But that’s not a great thing for WVU. The Sun Belt is a soccer league of haves and have-nots. West Virginia is very much a have, as are Marshall, Kentucky and Georgia Southern. Those teams, and perhaps South Carolina, will test the Mountaineers well.
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Central Florida is iffy as to whether it will. The Knights have played a tough slate and don’t have an impressive record because of that. Their losses have come to North Carolina, Wake Forest, UNC Greensboro and Kentucky. None of those are bad teams. Only the Tar Heels aren’t ranked, and they have a draw with top-ranked NC State.
So this is a trap game for West Virginia. How the Mountaineers handle the Knights will test their maturity. The teams meet Sunday night in Orlando.
