With home field hanging in the balance and a desperate opponent on the pitch, West Virginia needed to come up with a big response against South Carolina. Felix Ewald had the answer.
Ewald banged home the game-winning goal in the 61st minute, and the Mountaineers withstood South Carolina’s attacks, holding on for a 2-1 win on Tuesday night in Columbia, S.C. With the victory, West Virginia secured second place in the Sun Belt Conference and home field advantage through the first two rounds of the conference tournament.
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West Virginia will open the Sun Belt tournament on Sunday in Morgantown against No. 7 seed Old Dominion. The Mountaineers are the defending conference tournament champion, having beaten Marshall last year to win the crown. Kentucky edged the Mountaineers out for the regular season title, amassing 22 points to West Virginia’s 21. The Mountaineers stayed ahead of Marshall, which finished third on 19 points.
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Early on, it appeared West Virginia (12-3-2, 7-2 Sun Belt, 21 points) might be traveling for the first two rounds of the league tournament, as South Carolina (7-9-2, 1-6-2, 5 points) created a chance off a West Virginia corner. The Gamecocks cleared away the chance, then set up a counter-attack that gave Ethan Ballek a look at goal. Suddenly, West Virginia faced a repeat of the Georgia State game, which hadn’t gone well for the Mountaineers.
This time, West Virginia kept to its strategy. The Mountaineers continued to press the attack and eventually earned a penalty in the 51st minute. Carlos Hernando slotted it home, leveling the match and letting the Mountaineers play on their terms.
From there, the Mountaineers were able to use the Gamecocks’ desperation against them. With a tie doing South Carolina no good, West Virginia had the luxury of attacking when and how it wanted. That led to Ewald’s marker, as West Virginia kept up the pressure with 12 corner opportunities.
Mountaineers Match Gamecocks’ Desperation
In some ways, South Carolina was the worst possible opponent for West Virginia in this situation. The Gamecocks had to win to keep their season alive. Only the top eight teams qualify for the Sun Belt tournament, and South Carolina arrived having lost four straight to put its season on the brink. Nothing short of a win would suffice for South Carolina, as Coastal Carolina sat on six points and faced last-place James Madison.
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A desperate team is never easy to face, and South Carolina made West Virginia work for everything. The Gamecocks got off four shots on goal, including two after West Virginia took the lead. Keeper Mark Bonnaire rarely has to work as much as he did on Tuesday, but West Virginia needed him to survive this match.
The way the match unfolded showed that West Virginia can expect teams to be judicious with their attacks. Sun Belt teams figured out that patience was their best option against the Mountaineer defense. Dan Stratford’s side will need to plan for that, especially facing these teams a second time.
Mountaineers Open Conference Tournament
West Virginia now opens the Sun Belt tournament against Old Dominion on Sunday. Marshall and Georgia State meet in the other quarterfinal at Morgantown, with Kentucky headlining the other bracket.
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If West Virginia reaches the final, it will either play at Kentucky or host Georgia Southern, UCF or Coastal Carolina. That game would take place on Nov. 16, following the semifinals on Nov. 12.
The Mountaineers escaped from Old Dominion in the first meeting, edging the Monarchs by a 1-0 count.
