No. 9 WVU Men’s Soccer (11-2-4, 6-1-2) took care of business Sunday, shutting out No. 8 seed Georgia Southern, 4-0, to advance in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Read more: No. 9 West Virginia blanks Georgia Southern to advance in Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
The No. 1-seeded Mountaineers used an early goal from Pablo Pozos and three second-half scores to pull away from the Eagles. Pozos finished with two goals, while Juan Alvarez and Sammie Walker added scores of their own.
West Virginia controlled much of the match offensively, finishing with a 12-4 advantage in shots and a 5-1 edge in shots on goal. The Mountaineers also received a strong performance from goalkeeper Toby Mawer, who recorded one save to secure the shutout.
Pozos gets West Virginia on the board early
West Virginia wasted little time creating an opportunity, putting pressure on the Georgia Southern defense throughout the opening minutes.
The Mountaineers broke through in the ninth minute when Pozos found the back of the net. After receiving service from Isaac Scheer and Kanta Ishii, Pozos finished with his right foot into the bottom-left corner to give West Virginia a 1-0 lead.
Georgia Southern aimed to respond, with Mitch Picksley putting an early shot wide before having another attempt blocked in the 19th minute.
The Eagles kept searching for an equalizer, but West Virginia goalkeeper Toby Mawer and the Mountaineer defense kept them off the scoreboard.
West Virginia had opportunities to extend its lead before the break. Civan de Jesus Ferreira put a shot toward the bottom-right corner in the 33rd minute, but Georgia Southern goalkeeper Luca Maxim made the save.
Georgia Southern answered with a chance of its own in the 37th minute. Jelani Brathwaite put a shot toward the bottom center of the goal, but Mawer came up with the stop to preserve the Mountaineers’ one-goal advantage.
West Virginia headed into halftime leading 1-0.
Mountaineers break it open after halftime
West Virginia came out of the locker room primed to build on its lead and put more pressure on the Eagles.
Joshua Dudock had an early second-half attempt blocked in the 46th minute, while Harry Hogben sent another opportunity wide in the 50th minute.
The Mountaineers created more chances as the half progressed. Aurelien Cormier and Tyler Londono Zapata each recorded shots in the 62nd minute, but neither found the back of the net.
West Virginia remained patient, and that approach eventually paid off.
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In the 81st minute, Juan Alvarez doubled the Mountaineers’ advantage. Alvarez finished with his left foot into the bottom-left corner, with Scheer picking up his second assist of the afternoon.
West Virginia was not finished.
Just over a minute later, Pozos found the back of the net for the second time. The forward finished into the top-left corner in the 82nd minute, with Ishii recording his second assist of the match.
The back-to-back goals gave West Virginia a commanding 3-0 advantage with less than 10 minutes remaining.
Walker caps off four-goal performance
The Mountaineers added one more before the final whistle.
Sammie Walker, who entered the match late in the second half, scored in the 86th minute. Walker finished with his right foot into the bottom-left corner to make it 4-0.
Georgia Southern attempted to find a late response, but another opportunity from Paul Moodie was blocked in the 87th minute.
Walker nearly added another shortly afterward, but his attempt was also blocked.
West Virginia’s defense and Mawer completed the shutout, while the Mountaineers’ four-goal performance highlighted their offensive production throughout the match.
Pozos finished with two goals on two shots on target, while Scheer and Ishii each recorded two assists. Alvarez and Walker added goals of their own.
West Virginia finished with 12 shots, five shots on goal, and two corner kicks. Georgia Southern managed just four shots, one on goal, and one corner kick.
The 4-0 victory sends the top-seeded Mountaineers through the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, keeping their postseason run alive. WVU will face the winner of Sunday night’s quarterfinal — No. 4 James Madison vs. No. 5 Coastal Carolina.
The Mountaineers’ semifinal bout is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday in Morgantown.
