West Virginia (0-1-0) set a program record for attendance on Friday night, but was unable to give its fans a win as UC Santa Barbara (2-0-0) shut out the Mountaineers 2-0 in front of 2,938 fans at Dick Dleesk Soccer Stadium during the opening match of the West Virginia University/Nike Classic.
The Gauchos got on the scoreboard in the 15th minute when freshman Michael Nonni sprinted at the WVU defense and laid off a pass to sophomore Waid Ibrahim, who beat defenders Jason Bristol and Ryan Gillespie. After goalie Zach Johnson came off his line to make the stop, Ibrahim slid the ball near post for the score, giving UCSB the 1-0 lead.
WVU came within inches of tying the game courtesy of sophomore Raymon Gaddis in the 19th minute. On what was WVU’s best chance to score, Travis Pittman, with his back to the goal, slipped a pass to Gaddis, who was streaking on the far side. After beating a defender, Gaddis was faced with just goalkeeper Sam Hayden, but sent a shot that went just wide of the net.
At the 64:50 mark, the Gauchos tacked on the second and final goal of the game. SeniorMartin Hedevag slipped a ball through the Mountaineer defense to senior David Walker, who was in alone with Johnson, and beat him for the score.
The Mountaineers out-shot the Gauchos, 7-6, but UCSB had three shots on goal, while WVU managed just one. Sophomore Luis Silva led the team with two shots with one on-frame.
UCSB returns to the pitch on Sunday, Sept. 6, when it faces Pittsburgh at 8 a.m. (PST) at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. The game is available on Gametracker.
