BUCKHANNON, W. Va. — Third-seeded Urbana University fell 3-0 to No. 2 seed West Virginia Wesleyan Wednesday in the Mountain East Conference men’s soccer semifinals. The game was played in soggy conditions on Wesleyan’s natural surface field in Buckhannon, West Virginia.
With the loss, UU’s season comes to an end with an overall record of 10-7. WVWC (11-5-3) will move on to the MEC Finals against the winner of Charleston/Notre Dame.
UU controlled possession for the majority of the first half, going into halftime with a 11-3 edge in shots, but didn’t take advantage with the score tied 0-0 at the break.
The second half was all Wesleyan with goals scored in the 55th, 76th and 88th minutes. The Blue Knights were able to get a few good looks but Wesleyan’s keeper Cooper Zent came up big with three saves in the second period.
UU women honored
Urbana University women’s soccer had three players selected to the 2017 All-MEC Honorable Mention team, including Katherine Beech (Ontario, Ohio), Alyssa Edwards (Canal Winchester, Ohio) and Alyssa Garberich (Springfield, Ohio). Announced Wednesday by conference headquarters, the All-MEC teams are selected by a vote of the league’s head coaches.
Beech, a sophomore goalkeeper, finished another outstanding season while starting all 17 games in net for the Blue Knights. Beech posted a career-high three shutouts and 119 saves while leading the MEC and ranking 30th in the nation in saves per game (7.0). She recorded four games with 10 or more saves including a career-high 14 saves against Charleston (Oct. 18).
Edwards, a freshman forward who was also named to the All-Freshman Team, played in all 17 games and finished second on the team with six points. Edwards had two goals, scoring in two of UU’s three wins which included a PK game-winner. She totaled 14 shots on goal and led the team with 33 shot attempts overall. In addition, Edwards tied for second on the team with two assists.
Garberich, a sophomore forward/midfielder, started 15 games and led UU with eight points. Garberich assisted on a third of UU’s goals this season with four helpers and scored two goals, leading the Blue Knights in shots on goal with 15.
