MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Oct. 31, 2023) – Yutaro Tsukada’s 90th minute penalty kick lifted the No. 7 West Virginia University men’s soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Old Dominion on Tuesday night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. The Mountaineers finish the regular season at 12-1-4 overall while Old Dominion is now 5-6-5.
West Virginia also finished 5-1-3 in Sun Belt action and will be the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Tournament. The Mountaineers will take on No. 6-seed Georgia State in Orlando on Sunday at 3 p.m. The winner of the match will face the winner of No. 2 UCF and No. 7 South Carolina on Wednesday, Nov. 8, in Orlando.
Against Old Dominion on Tuesday, the Mountaineers jumped out to a first-half lead on the first goal of the season from junior Carlos Hernando. Off a corner in the 38th minute, senior Ryan Crooks sent a cross into the box for the head of junior Max Broughton, who flicked it back for Hernando. The Spaniard gathered himself and fired a left-footed shot into the back of the net.
The score remained the same until the 85th minute when the Mountaineers committed a foul in the box to give Old Dominion a penalty. Karan Mandair stepped up to the spot for the Monarchs and scored the equalizer.
Tsukada subbed back onto the pitch for the final five minutes and was the beneficiary of Otto Ollikainen drawing a penalty with just 32 seconds remaining. Tsukada calmly stepped up and buried his sixth goal of the season.
On the night, West Virginia outshot the Monarchs, 13-5, including a 4-1 advantage in shots on goal. The Mountaineers also took six corner kicks while not conceding any for the first time this season.
Prior to the match, the Mountaineers honored seniors Jackson Lee, Brayden Borutskie, Ryan Crooks, Luke McCormick, Kasimir Lauber, Sergio Ors Navarro, Kyle Lehnert, and Thomas Decottignies for their tremendous careers with the Gold and Blue.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
West Virginia also finished 5-1-3 in Sun Belt action and will be the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Tournament. The Mountaineers will take on No. 6-seed Georgia State in Orlando on Sunday at 3 p.m. The winner of the match will face the winner of No. 2 UCF and No. 7 South Carolina on Wednesday, Nov. 8, in Orlando.
Against Old Dominion on Tuesday, the Mountaineers jumped out to a first-half lead on the first goal of the season from junior Carlos Hernando. Off a corner in the 38th minute, senior Ryan Crooks sent a cross into the box for the head of junior Max Broughton, who flicked it back for Hernando. The Spaniard gathered himself and fired a left-footed shot into the back of the net.
The score remained the same until the 85th minute when the Mountaineers committed a foul in the box to give Old Dominion a penalty. Karan Mandair stepped up to the spot for the Monarchs and scored the equalizer.
Tsukada subbed back onto the pitch for the final five minutes and was the beneficiary of Otto Ollikainen drawing a penalty with just 32 seconds remaining. Tsukada calmly stepped up and buried his sixth goal of the season.
On the night, West Virginia outshot the Monarchs, 13-5, including a 4-1 advantage in shots on goal. The Mountaineers also took six corner kicks while not conceding any for the first time this season.
Prior to the match, the Mountaineers honored seniors Jackson Lee, Brayden Borutskie, Ryan Crooks, Luke McCormick, Kasimir Lauber, Sergio Ors Navarro, Kyle Lehnert, and Thomas Decottignies for their tremendous careers with the Gold and Blue.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
