MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (August 24, 2023) – The West Virginia men’s soccer team got off to a strong start in the 2023 campaign as the Mountaineers defeated California Baptist, 3-0, Thursday evening at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
Sophomore Marcus Caldeira found the back of the net twice on opening night after leading the team in goals a season ago. Redshirt-senior Sergio Ors Navarro also scored while junior Max Broughton, senior Ryan Baer, junior Otto Ollikainen, and senior Yutaro Tsukada tallied assists.
In goal, senior Jackson Lee made five saves to earn the fifth shutout of his Mountaineer career.
West Virginia got on the board in the 15th minute as Broughton took the ball on the back line and sent it Baer who quickly turned and found Caldeira streaking toward the box where he made one dribble past the keeper before putting the ball in the back of the net.
After taking their one-goal advantage into the half, Ors Navarro doubled the Mountaineer lead in the 56th minute as he tapped in a perfect cross from Tsukada.
California Baptist, the WAC preseason favorites, had three shots on goal over the next 25 minutes, but Lee was there every time to clean things up.
In the 86th minute, Caldeira put the finishing touch on the match with a header goal off a pass from Ollikainen to give him his second-career brace.
Overall, CBU outshot the Mountaineers, 12-10, with shots on goal even at five. The Lancers also had a 7-4 corner kick advantage.
With the win, the Mountaineers improve to 37-21-5 in season openers and have now won seven straight opening contests, dating back to 2017.
West Virginia will be back at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium on Monday when Bucknell comes to town for a 7 p.m. kickoff. It will be Dog Day as fans are invited to bring their pups to the pitch. All dogs in attendance must have proof of vaccination and a signed Dog Day Waiver.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Sophomore Marcus Caldeira found the back of the net twice on opening night after leading the team in goals a season ago. Redshirt-senior Sergio Ors Navarro also scored while junior Max Broughton, senior Ryan Baer, junior Otto Ollikainen, and senior Yutaro Tsukada tallied assists.
In goal, senior Jackson Lee made five saves to earn the fifth shutout of his Mountaineer career.
West Virginia got on the board in the 15th minute as Broughton took the ball on the back line and sent it Baer who quickly turned and found Caldeira streaking toward the box where he made one dribble past the keeper before putting the ball in the back of the net.
After taking their one-goal advantage into the half, Ors Navarro doubled the Mountaineer lead in the 56th minute as he tapped in a perfect cross from Tsukada.
California Baptist, the WAC preseason favorites, had three shots on goal over the next 25 minutes, but Lee was there every time to clean things up.
In the 86th minute, Caldeira put the finishing touch on the match with a header goal off a pass from Ollikainen to give him his second-career brace.
Overall, CBU outshot the Mountaineers, 12-10, with shots on goal even at five. The Lancers also had a 7-4 corner kick advantage.
With the win, the Mountaineers improve to 37-21-5 in season openers and have now won seven straight opening contests, dating back to 2017.
West Virginia will be back at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium on Monday when Bucknell comes to town for a 7 p.m. kickoff. It will be Dog Day as fans are invited to bring their pups to the pitch. All dogs in attendance must have proof of vaccination and a signed Dog Day Waiver.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
