LEXINGTON, Ky. – After a scoreless first half, a strike from No. 4 West Virginia in the 69^th minute proved to be the difference maker as the Mountaineers topped No. 5 Coastal Carolina, 1-0, in the Sun Belt Conference quarterfinals. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
69:45 – The Mountaineers broke the scoreless drought in the 69^th minute with a goal from Marcus Caldeira. Caldeira took a pass from Adam Burchell, weaved through the Coastal defense, and shot the ball with a left footed curler to find the back of the net and get West Virginia on the board. 
 
FIRST HALF
The squads remained scoreless through the first 45 minutes, as both defensive units were put to the test in a back-and-forth battle that saw the Mountaineers held to three shots and the Chanticleers held to two. West Virginia had its best chance of the half at the 29:42 mark, with a shot that went high from Adam Burchell. Coastal fired back three minutes later with back-to-back corners, but the Mountaineer back line held its ground to keep the score even at zero going into the half. 
 
SECOND HALF
With elimination looming, both teams saw an offensive uptick to start the second half. Coastal fired off its first shot only two minutes out of the break, but the ball went just wide. West Virginia battled back with a shot of its own six minutes later, but again the shot went wide as the Chanticleers defense applied pressure. With the clock ticking down, it was the Mountaineers who found the back of the net first with a goal Caldeira in the 69^th minute. Caldeira found Burchell darting down the wing and dodged the Chanticleers back line to put West Virginia on top with 21 minutes to play. The Coastal offense attempted the even the score with three shots on goal, but the Mountaineers defensive unit held strong to cement the 1-0 victory. 
 
WHAT’S NEXT
No. 4 West Virginia will take on the winner of No. 1 Kentucky and No. 8 South Carolina on Wednesday at the Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex. The match is slated to kick off at 7:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPN+.