Country Roads played at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium Thursday evening following the Mountaineers’ 2-1 win over North Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
While the Mountaineers continued their hunt for a national championship, their first matchup didn’t come without a scare. West Virginia was up 2-0 with only five minutes left in the game when North Florida’s Jaxon Reinhardt put the ball in the back of the net to make the score 2-1. The Mountaineers kept the lead to finish the game.
Sun Belt Player and Offensive Player of the Year, Sergio Ors Navarro scored the first goal for the Mountaineers 27 minutes into the game. The goal was assisted by junior Felix Ewald.
Headed into the second half, both teams had four shots. The Mountaineers looked to extend their lead. Goal number two for West Virginia was rebounded by junior Marcus Caldeira following a blocked shot by freshman Isaac Scheer.
Both goalkeepers, West Virginia’s Marc Bonnaire and North Florida’s Luciano Natoli, played the entire 90 minutes. They both had three saves in the net.
The Mountaineers will travel to Charlottesville, Virginia, on Sunday to take on No. 11 UVA in round two of the NCAA tournament. Game time is 5:00 p.m.
