LEXINGTON, Ky. – The West Virginia University men’s soccer team lost to No. 2 Kentucky, 3-0, in the Sun Belt Championship semifinals Wednesday night at the Bell Soccer Complex.
The Wildcats (13-0-5) opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, before putting the game aside with extra counts in the 81st and 83rd.
junior striker Yutaro Tsukada started the Mountaineers’ night with a dangerous chance that deflected in the 16th minute. Midfielder/junior defender red shirt Sergio Ors Navarro also had a chance to score but couldn’t finish in the 34th minute.
WVU trailed, 1-0, at halftime.
In the second half, freshman striker Marcus Caldera found himself in front of goal in the 51st minute to almost equalize the game. This led to a goal disallowed by Mountaineer in the 65th minute, which saw the fifth-year senior defender Elijah Borneo find the back of the net, only for the flag to be raised for offside.
After junior goalkeeper jackson lee made a 73rd-minute diving save – one of his three of the night – the Wildcats scored back-to-back goals to extend their lead.
Kentucky finished with a 14-4 advantage in shooting and held a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks. Tsukada led West Virginia with two shots on the night.
With the loss, the Mountaineers fell to 7-7-4 this season, as well as an all-time 20-18-3 in conference tournament play.
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