West Virginia Bows Out in Sun Belt Championship

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The West Virginia University men’s soccer team fell at No. 2 Kentucky, 3-0, in the Sun Belt Championship Semifinals on Wednesday night at the Bell Soccer Complex.
 
The Wildcats (13-0-5) opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, before they put the game away with additional tallies in the 81st and 83rd.
 
Junior forward Yutaro Tsukada got the Mountaineers’ night started with a dangerous chance that sailed wide in the 16th minute. Redshirt junior midfielder/defender Sergio Ors Navarro also had a scoring opportunity but was unable to finish in the 34th minute.
 
WVU trailed, 1-0, at halftime.
 
In the second half, freshman forward Marcus Caldeira found himself in front of goal in the 51st minute to nearly tie the match. That led to a Mountaineer disallowed goal in the 65th minute, which saw fifth-year senior defender Elijah Borneo find the back of the net, only for the flag to be up for offside.
 
After junior goalkeeper Jackson Lee made a diving save in the 73rd minute – one of his three on the night – the Wildcats scored back-to-back goals to extend their lead.
 
Kentucky finished with a 14-4 advantage in shots and held a 4-2 edge in corner kicks. Tsukada led West Virginia with two shots on the night.
 
With the loss, the Mountaineers fell to 7-7-4 on the season, as well as 20-18-3 all-time in conference-tournament action.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.