Felix Ewald provided the only marker just minutes before halftime, and the WVU men’s soccer team rebounded from its first Sun Belt loss, beating Old Dominon 1-0 on Wednesday night in Morgantown.
The Mountaineers (10-2-2, 5-1 Sun Belt, 15 points) remained in a three-way tie for first place in the Sun Belt Conference. That will resolve itself over the rest of October, as the Mountaineers’ next two matches come against Kentucky and Marshall. If the Mountaineers sweep, they would only need a draw at South Carolina on the final day of the season to win the regular season title outright.
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As has been their style, the West Virginia defense mostly limited the attacks in its own end. Old Dominion (5-5-4, 1-3-2, 5 points) appeared to take some lessons from Georgia State, as the Monarchs bided their time and waited for opportunities to present themselves. Old Dominion managed just three shots, but two of them forced Mark Bonnaire to make a save.
Bonnaire’s best moment was the first time he was called into action. Jamie Wynne got a chance with a clear look at the goal in the 33rd minute, but Bonnaire turned the shot away to keep the match level.
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That proved crucial 11 minutes later, as Ewald made West Virginia’s strategy of quantity creating quality pay off. The Mountaineers created 15 corner opportunities, and Ewald found himself in the right spot off Isaac Scheer’s corner near the end of the half. Nicholas Scargle headed the set piece into Ewald, who knocked it past Michael Statham with a header to give the Mountaineers a deserved 1-0 lead at the break.
Mountaineers Create Opportunities
At this point, West Virginia’s offensive situation has to be considered a feature rather than a bug. Dan Stratford’s men get the ball into dangerous areas. They usually find a good look at the goal. And their possessions often end with a shot that finds its way to the target.
There’s a saying in baseball that putting the ball in play can make good things happen. It works similarly in soccer, where West Virginia is going to score more often than not from sheer volume of chances.
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The drawback with this strategy is the danger it creates against good opponents. In the Sun Belt, few teams have a top-quality keeper. In fact, Bonnaire is leading the conference with seven shutouts on the year. But against the likes of a Logan Erb (NC State) or Andrew Samuels (Princeton), West Virginia is going to have to come up with something more to get the ball to hit the mesh. If the Mountaineers want to get beyond the last 16, they’ll need more from the attack.
Mountaineers Face Toughest Tests
Everything now comes down to this coming week for WVU men’s soccer. They’ll face Kentucky next on Sunday in Lexington, where the Wildcats have looked like a championship side. Kentucky got brutally beaten at Marshall, but the Wildcats have just one loss in Lexington all season: fifth-ranked Indiana, which has made the last 16 of the NCAA tournament 10 years running.
Clearly, the Mountaineers have a tall task this week, and it gets no easier from there. Following the trip to Lexington, West Virginia comes home for the Mountain State Derby with Marshall. Assuming the Thundering Herd takes care of business at Old Dominion this week, that match could decide the Sun Belt title.
