CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina men's soccer team (2-2-1) looks to return to the win column as the Chanticleers will kick off Sun Belt Conference play on the road at No. 21 nationally-ranked West Virginia.
The Mountaineers, who picked up national attention in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Week 3 poll, enter the match at 2-3-0 overall.
COASTAL VS. WEST VIRGINIA
Friday night's match will mark the sixth all-time meeting between the Chanticleers and Mountaineers dating back to 1985.
CCU and WVU last faced off on Sept. 3, 2019 – a 5-2 victory for West Virginia in Morgantown, W.Va.
LAST TIME OUT
Coastal Carolina fell at home to High Point, 2-1, last Sunday night. High Point used two second-half goals to hand Coastal just its second loss of the season.
After a quiet first half and a 45-minute weather delay, CCU went up 1-0 in the 62nd minute as
Alvaro Garcia-Pascual headed in his team-leading fourth goal of the season on a ball from teammate
Noah Glorioso.
In the 82nd minute, the Chants'
Jonah Stekly was called for a foul inside the penalty box, awarding the Panthers a penalty kick which Kaya Ignacio converted to level the score at 1-1.
High Point took the lead just two minutes later, as Amaya Jefferson sent a corner kick into the box that Noah Holmes put into the back of the net to give the Panthers a 2-1 advantage in the 84th minute.
CHANT TALK
- With his goal against High Point last Sunday, Garcia-Pascual leads the Chanticleers in total goals scored (four) and points (eight), with Maurice Hauser adding three goals and six points.
- Joey Batrouni has started all five of the Chants' matches this season, logging 434 total minutes between the pipes. Notably, the San Antonio, Texas, native has notched 12 saves (.545) on the year.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
- West Virginia's eight goals this season have come from six different Mountaineers, with Ryan Crooks' two goals and three assists (11 points) leading the offensive efforts for WVU.
- Mountaineer redshirt junior defender Bjarne Thiesen was named to the 2022 Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Hermann Trophy Watch List earlier this season.
- WVU, who received their highest United Soccer Coaches Preseason ranking in program history at No. 6, went 12-3-6 last season en route to their first NCAA Championship quarterfinals appearance since 1981. The Mountaineers were picked to finish atop the newly reinstated Sun Belt Men's Soccer league, earning five first-place votes and 75 total points in the preseason poll.
For complete coverage of CCU men's soccer, follow the Chants on social media at @CoastalMSoccer (Twitter), Facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.
