On Friday evening, the No. 23 West Virginia men’s soccer team fell to Yale by the score of 2-1.
Despite holding possession for 70% of the contest, West Virginia could not make the plays necessary to cap off a win.
The Mountaineers got off to a fast start when junior Sergio Ors Navarro scored from close range set up by a nice pass from Max Tretheway.
The goal by Ors Navarro marked the second match in a row that WVU scored in the fourth minute, but the Mountaineers wouldn’t be able to find the back of the net for the remainder of the evening.
West Virginia kept the pressure on the Bulldogs throughout the first half, but Yale keeper Elian Haddock made a pair of saves to keep his team in the match.
In the 38th minute of the first half, Yale saw a golden opportunity to tie the game when WVU keeper Jackson Lee was handed a yellow card.
The Bulldogs capitalized on this opportunity, as senior forward Paolo Carroll scored on a penalty kick to tie the game.
Though WVU had a couple more chances late in the period, the match went into halftime tied at 1-1.
West Virginia got six shots in the second period, but none of them got through thanks to the Yale defense.
With the match nearing the end of regulation, Yale stole the game from West Virginia before the Mountaineers could make a play in front of the home faithful.
In the 88th minute, Yale’s Max Rogers took a pass from Quanah Brayboy and buried a shot into the upper left corner of the net, past the diving Jackson Lee.
The Rogers strike stunned the Mountaineer fans and and gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 comeback road win.
WVU head coach Dan Stratford spoke on the disappointing loss.
“A little bit of magic from them (Yale) can be all the difference,” Stratford said. “We didn’t execute. We didn’t have that final finish to put the game away.”
The Mountaineers fall to 2-3 on the season while Yale improves to 1-0-2.
West Virginia will be back in action next Friday when Coastal Carolina comes to town. The Mountaineers and Chanticleers will start at 7 p.m. from Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
