West Virginia
Mountaineers Rally to Defeat California Baptist – West Virginia University Athletics
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The No. 1 West Virginia University men’s soccer team passed its toughest test of the season on Friday against California Baptist, rallying to defeat the Lancers, 3-2, at CBU Soccer Stadium. The Mountaineers improve to 4-0-0 while CBU suffers its first loss of the year to go to 1-1-2.
Junior Marcus Caldeira scored the game-winning goal in the 87th minute around 1 a.m. eastern time to provide the late-night drama. Caldeira’s goal was only possible after graduate student Sergio Ors Navarro tied up the contest in the 75th minute with his NCAA-leading seventh goal of the season.
Graduate student Simon Carlson continued his torrid start to the season as well with his fourth goal and is now up to 12 points on the year. Freshman Isaac Scheer picked up his first-career point with an assist.
Overall, West Virginia outshot the Lancers, 21-10, including a 9-5 advantage in shots on goal. The Mountaineers also had a 6-4 edge in corner kicks.
Carlson opened the scoring in the sixth minute as he won a free kick just outside the box. He then stepped up the ball and curled in a right-footed shot off the tips of the diving goalkeeper’s outstretched fingers.
The Mountaineers remained in front until the 34th minute when Andrew Lovell headed in a goal for California Baptist to tie up the game.
With the contest still tied, CBU took the lead in the 62nd minute as Blake D’Agostino went top shelf from a tough angle.
The Mountaineers kept fighting and with just 15 minutes to go, Scheer sent a ball to the top of the box where Ors Navarro was able to bend a shot around a couple of defenders and into the corner of the net.
Not satisfied with a draw, Caldeira took matters into his own hands in the 87th minute, maneuvering his way around four defenders in the box before getting a shot past the CBU keeper.
West Virginia will remain in California for its next match when it takes on Loyola Marymount on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 8 p.m. ET. It is a rematch of last season’s NCAA quarterfinal, a contest in which the Mountaineers won, 3-1, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium to advance to the College Cup for the first time in program history.
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