Box Score EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – West Virginia scored a pair of first-half goals Sunday and held on for a 2-0 win over SIUE in Mid-American Conference soccer at Korte Stadium.
SIUE fell to 4-3 overall and 1-3 in the MAC. West Virginia is 3-2 overall and 2-2 in the MAC.
"The difference today was (West Virginia) finished chances in the first half that we didn't," SIUE Head Coach Cale Wassermann said. "We had a couple of chances early and couldn't put one away."
The Mountaineers got on the board in the 15th minute when Sergio Ors Navarro finished with a shot to the back post after a cross from Kyle Lehnert. It looked like the half would end 1-0 when WVU was awarded a free kick just seconds before the end of the half.
Jesus DeVicente delivered a long ball into the box where it was headed on by Bjarne Thiesen. Sam Morgan then headed home for the 2-0 lead with just four seconds to play before halftime.
"The goal right before halftime was deflating," Wassermann said. "We're already fatigued. We're coming off an intense, emotional game on Wednesday and you think you can get to half 1-0 and make a push."
West Virginia outshot SIUE 13-9 for the game and held a 9-3 edge in shots on target. Steven Tekesky earned his third shutout of the year for the Mountaineers, making all three saves.
Lluís Martorell made seven saves for the Cougars.
"It's hard to come back if you don't score one," Wassermann added. "This is three games straight with no goals and it something that we have to address."
Jack Edwards, Jacob Bilyeu and Mitchell Murphy each recorded shots on goal for the Cougars.
"We need to be more a little more aggressive in the final third and force some saves and force some blocks and earns some corner kicks," Wassermann said. "It's something that we talked about both pregame and at halftime and it is something that we need to execute better in the upcoming games."
SIUE now has a full week between games. The Cougars will travel to Akron for a Sunday morning contest against the Zips.
"This is a group that has a good culture," Wassermann said. "This will be a nice test to see what we're made of. When you start 4-0 and then you go 0-3, I think our true colors will show in how we manage this, bounce back and go to a very tough place to play at Akron."
