Mountaineers men, women combine for 11 goals in Sunday sweep

 

Freshman Rushawn Larmond celebrates his goal in West Virginia’s 6-0 win over beat San Francisco on Sunday.

 

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Joey Piatczyc recorded a school-record four assists, two of those leading to Jamie Merriam goals in the opening eight minutes, as West Virginia crushed San Francisco 6-0 Sunday in men’s soccer action.

Merriam tacked on two assists to lift the Mountaineers (1-1) to their highest-scoring match since 1998.

“Our guys came out and showed a lot of what we’ve been talking about all season in terms of what this team can be,” coach Marlon LeBlanc said.

Fourteen players shared the previous WVU single-game mark of three assists before Piatczyc’s historic day.

Mike Desiderio, Ryan Cain, Jack Driscoll and Rushawn Larmond also scored for the Mountaineers, who rebounded from being shutout in Friday’s opener.

“On Friday, we created a number of chances but didn’t take our chances all that well,” LeBlanc said. “The big difference today was that we took advantage of our chances and scored two goals in the first eight minutes. When you score early it changes the dynamic of the game. This is a good soccer team we have here and I think they showed that today.”

San Francisco (0-2) managed only three shots on goal, none until the 38th minute.

The Mountaineers visit Michigan on Friday before a Labor Day matchup at Michigan State.

WVU women 5, Duquesne 0: The No. 11-ranked Mountaineers (3-1) took 38 shots, the fifth-most in program history, and cruised in their home opener.

Kailey Utley, Ashley Lawrence and Nia Gordon each recorded a goal and an assist. Amandine Pierre-Louis and Michaela Abam also scored.

“Today’s win was a total team effort. I felt we came in right away and set the tone for the match, and we maintained that pressure all game,” said West Virginia coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “We were able to create great chances today. Finishing with so many scorers is important in our attack.”

The Dukes (2-1) managed only two shots, failing to challenge goalkeeper Hannah Steadman.

Freshman defender Easther Mayi Kith thwarted Duquesne’s best chance in the 63rd minute. With Steadman out of position after challenging a charging DU player, Mayi Kith raced to the goal line and slid toward the left post, pushing the ball out of play and giving the Dukes their lone corner of the match.

The WVU women return host No. 4 Penn State on Friday at 7 p.m.

Kailey Utley and Michaela Abam were all smiles in West Virginia’s 5-0 win over Duquesne.