Mountaineers and Herd fans, mark your calendars. Both of West Virginia's big programs are still standing in the Sun Belt men's soccer tournament, and if they each take care of business Wednesday night, the conference title will come down to WVU and Marshall.
Both teams won their quarterfinals at home on Sunday, and both will host semifinal matches on Wednesday, Nov. 11, with kickoff at 7 p.m. Eastern.
WVU pulls away late
Top-seeded West Virginia, ranked No. 9 in the country, beat No. 8 seed Georgia Southern 4-0 in Morgantown. Senior forward Pablo Pozos put the Mountaineers ahead in the 10th minute, and it stayed 1-0 for a long while, with a couple of WVU shots ringing off the frame in the second half.
Then the floodgates opened. Sophomore midfielder Juan Alvarez scored in the 81st minute, Pozos added his second goal a minute later, and sophomore forward Sammie Walker finished it off in the 87th. Junior midfielders Isaac Scheer and Kanta Ishii set up the scoring, and redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Toby Mawer kept the clean sheet.
Marshall slams the door
Down in Huntington, No. 2 seed Marshall, ranked 14th nationally, beat No. 7 seed Kentucky 4-1. Carl Romberg headed in the opening goal in the 10th minute, and the Herd put the game away with two goals in the 77th and 79th minutes.
Wednesday's semifinals
- WVU vs. No. 5 seed Coastal Carolina, 7 p.m. in Morgantown. Coastal Carolina beat James Madison 2-1 on a golden goal in double overtime.
- Marshall vs. No. 6 seed South Carolina, 7 p.m. at Hoops Family Field in Huntington. South Carolina knocked off third-seeded UCF.
Win both, and the Sun Belt championship becomes an all-West Virginia final, the kind of matchup that would split households from the Northern Panhandle to the Tug Fork. Get out to the stadium if you can and bring your loudest voice.
Who are you pulling for Wednesday night? Let's go, West Virginia.