Men's Soccer

West Virginia Bows Out in College Cup Semifinals

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – No. 5 West Virginia saw its historic season come to a close on Friday evening, falling to No. 9 Clemson, 1-0, in the NCAA College Cup Semifinals. 
 
After a back-and-forth battle for much of the first half, the Tigers broke the deadlock in the 36th minute with a goal from Shawn Smart from the upper right-hand corner of the box. West Virginia finished the half with four shots but couldn’t find the back of the net as the Mountaineers went into the break with the one-goal deficit. 
 
Despite firing off five shots while holding Clemson scoreless in the second half, West Virginia was unable to find the equalizer.  Clemson’s first half goal proved to be the difference maker as the Tigers held onto their 1-0 lead to advance to the National Championship match. 
 
The Mountaineers close the year with a 17-3-4 record, including a 9-0-3 mark at home at the Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. 
 
The Mountaineers made their College Cup debut by way of defeating Loyola Marymount, 3-1, in the quarterfinals at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, notching their program-record 17th victory of the season. The previous record of 15 was set in 2006 when the current coaching staff of Dan Stratford, Andy Wright, and Nick Noble suited up for West Virginia. 

The 2023 season saw the Mountaineers eclipse several program milestones. After starting the year receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Top-25, West Virginia jumped to No. 16 on the charts before propelling to No. 4 after shutting out then-No. 3 Portland (1-0). The Mountaineers’ climb continued to as high as No. 2 – their highest ranking in program history -- with the squad not falling out of the Top 7 for the remainder of the season. West Virginia also earned the No. 1 spot in both the College Soccer News and TopDrawerSoccer polls on Oct. 23, the first time in program history that WVU has been on top in any poll. 
 
West Virginia’s success in 2023 can be credited to its balanced roster which features five All-Sun Belt honorees. Sophomore forward Marcus Caldeira and senior forward Yutaro Tsukada earned spots on the First Team while senior midfielder Luke McCormick, junior defender Frederik Jorgensen, and senior keeper Jackson Lee were named to the Second Team. Overall, Tuskada finishes the year with a team-leading 33 points on 12 goals and nine assists while Caldeira also totaled 12 goals to go along with three assists. Sergio Ors Navarro scored eight for the Mountaineers while McCormick found the back of the net seven times. Max Broughton tallied two goals while five other players had one goal for WVU. In goal, Lee closes the season with 66 saves while playing every minute for the Mountaineers. He made a West Virginia career-high seven saves against Vermont in the Round of 32. 
 
West Virginia’s historic run marked its 16th NCAA appearance, including their fourth berth in the last six seasons. The No. 5 seed for the Mountaineers was also a program high, surpassing the previous high of No. 6 set back in 2006. Head Coach Dan Stratford concludes his fourth year at the helm in Morgantown with an overall career record of 103-20-20, including 42-3-15 with the Mountaineers.