(Dan Stratford postgame Zoom conference)
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Fairmont Senior graduate Ike Swiger scored in the 66th minute with the lone goal of the match as West Virginia downed No. 8 Marshall, 1-0 Wednesday night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
Swiger’s first goal as a Mountaineer came off a brilliant feed from Luke McCormick. He breezed past a defender and chipped a pass to Swiger, who flicked a shot by the goalkeeper from around ten yards out.
New WVU head coach Dan Stratford saw his club improve to 4-2 with their best victory of the season. All four victories have come by shutout.
“Marshall is certainly worthy of their ranking, so we knew we were going to have our work cut out for us, and we certainly did,” Stratford said. “However, we believed in what we could do in terms of creating chances. Especially in the second half, I thought that we started the half really well, and with a little bravery and courage in that period of the game we were pretty deserving of taking the lead.
“I’m learning that, no matter the opponent, you still need a few things to go your way and a little bit of luck to get over the line. I’m obviously incredibly pleased and very proud of the guys for their effort, and over the course of the 90 minutes, we really battled for the win.”
Marshall (6-2-1) held a 12-4 advantage in shots but Steven Tekesky made six saves in the Mountaineer net.
The Mountaineers return to Mid-American Conference on April 4 vs. Akron.