MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (September 1, 2017) – Senior Jad Arslan scored twice as the No. 19 West Virginia University men’s soccer team beat Wright State 4-1 on Friday night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
In their home opener, the Mountaineers (3-0) were again led by Arslan, who has scored four goals to open his senior season, including the game-winner in all three games. Sophomores Pascal Derwaritsch and Sebastian Garcia-Herreros also scored in the win, both being the first in their WVU careers, and junior Jorge Quintanilla registered a career-best three assists.
“What Jad’s doing, we expect him to do,” WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. He’s a marked man every game, and this will only make him more of a marked man. But what you saw today was a number of guys step up. Rushawn Larmond with the brilliant one-vs.-one move there to square the ball across to Sebastian Garcia-Herreros, a sophomore. Kevin Morris was fantastic. As much as we love what Jad does with his goals and how consistent and hard Louis Thomas works on the right-back position and Steven James, it was our young guys that really catapulted us at the end there. Jad doesn’t get those goals without some fantastic service. It was a complete team effort, it really was.”
The lone goal for the Raiders (1-1-1) came on a penalty kick in the 21st minute. Junior goalkeeper Stephen Banick made three saves and has allowed just one goal in his first three career games as a Mountaineer.
Derwaritsch put West Virginia ahead early in the match, at 4:53, with his first goal of his WVU career. The header by Derwaritsch came on the near side inside the six after receiving a ball in from Quintanilla on a free kick on the left side about 25 yards out.
Arslan made it a 2-0 game less than six minutes later with his third goal of the season and first of the night at 10:39. On the far side, Arslan dribbled through the Wright State defense, to the edge of the 18 where he buried a long shot into the upper corner of the net.
The Raiders cut the deficit to 2-1 on a penalty kick at 20:46. A hand ball on the goal line was called on a WSU shot that resulted in the penalty kick, and AJ Paterson converted for Wright State.
WVU would add to its lead in the 82nd minute, when Garcia-Herreros struck from inside the 18. The pass came from junior Rushawn Larmond, who sent the ball across the box to Garcia-Herreros for his first career score. Quintanilla also registered an assist on the play.
Arslan capped his night in the 87th minute, when he received a long pass from Quintanilla 25 yards out. After dribbling into the box, he beat the WSU goalkeeper into the upper left corner.
The WVU defense held Wright State to nine shots, four on goal. The Mountaineers recorded 16 shots and five shots on goal, both season-highs. The nine shots allowed is a season-low, while the four shots on goal given up ties a season low.
Up next, the Mountaineers host Monmouth for a doubleheader matchup on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 4. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET, and the WVU women will play at 6 p.m. Tickets to see both games are available for just $5 at WVUGAME.com, 1-800-WVU GAME or on gameday at the DDSS ticket office.
Single game tickets for all 10 of WVU’s regular-season home matches are now on sale at WVUGAME.com or by calling 1-800-WVU GAME. The complete 2017 WVU men’s soccer schedule, with match times, can be found here. All dates and times are subject to change, and fans are encouraged to stay tuned to WVUSports.com for updates.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
In their home opener, the Mountaineers (3-0) were again led by Arslan, who has scored four goals to open his senior season, including the game-winner in all three games. Sophomores Pascal Derwaritsch and Sebastian Garcia-Herreros also scored in the win, both being the first in their WVU careers, and junior Jorge Quintanilla registered a career-best three assists.
“What Jad’s doing, we expect him to do,” WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. He’s a marked man every game, and this will only make him more of a marked man. But what you saw today was a number of guys step up. Rushawn Larmond with the brilliant one-vs.-one move there to square the ball across to Sebastian Garcia-Herreros, a sophomore. Kevin Morris was fantastic. As much as we love what Jad does with his goals and how consistent and hard Louis Thomas works on the right-back position and Steven James, it was our young guys that really catapulted us at the end there. Jad doesn’t get those goals without some fantastic service. It was a complete team effort, it really was.”
The lone goal for the Raiders (1-1-1) came on a penalty kick in the 21st minute. Junior goalkeeper Stephen Banick made three saves and has allowed just one goal in his first three career games as a Mountaineer.
Derwaritsch put West Virginia ahead early in the match, at 4:53, with his first goal of his WVU career. The header by Derwaritsch came on the near side inside the six after receiving a ball in from Quintanilla on a free kick on the left side about 25 yards out.
Arslan made it a 2-0 game less than six minutes later with his third goal of the season and first of the night at 10:39. On the far side, Arslan dribbled through the Wright State defense, to the edge of the 18 where he buried a long shot into the upper corner of the net.
The Raiders cut the deficit to 2-1 on a penalty kick at 20:46. A hand ball on the goal line was called on a WSU shot that resulted in the penalty kick, and AJ Paterson converted for Wright State.
WVU would add to its lead in the 82nd minute, when Garcia-Herreros struck from inside the 18. The pass came from junior Rushawn Larmond, who sent the ball across the box to Garcia-Herreros for his first career score. Quintanilla also registered an assist on the play.
Arslan capped his night in the 87th minute, when he received a long pass from Quintanilla 25 yards out. After dribbling into the box, he beat the WSU goalkeeper into the upper left corner.
The WVU defense held Wright State to nine shots, four on goal. The Mountaineers recorded 16 shots and five shots on goal, both season-highs. The nine shots allowed is a season-low, while the four shots on goal given up ties a season low.
Up next, the Mountaineers host Monmouth for a doubleheader matchup on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 4. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET, and the WVU women will play at 6 p.m. Tickets to see both games are available for just $5 at WVUGAME.com, 1-800-WVU GAME or on gameday at the DDSS ticket office.
Single game tickets for all 10 of WVU’s regular-season home matches are now on sale at WVUGAME.com or by calling 1-800-WVU GAME. The complete 2017 WVU men’s soccer schedule, with match times, can be found here. All dates and times are subject to change, and fans are encouraged to stay tuned to WVUSports.com for updates.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.