Robert Morris men show fight in 1-0 road loss to No. 6 WVU

From RMU Athletics report

Robert Morris University men’s soccer team dropped its season opener at No. 6 West Virginia on Thursday night at the Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, 1-0.

With the loss, the Colonials fall to 0-1-0 this season, while the Mountaineers improve to 1-0-0 overall.

It was a slow start for both teams to begin Thursdays match, as they combined for two shots and one corner kick in the first 22′. The Mountaineers ended the scoring drought with a team goal in the 35′. Yutaro Tsukada fired a shot from the top of the box that ricocheted off the crossbar and off the back of sophomore goalkeeper Friedrich Petrelli, rolling into the net to give WVU a 1-0 lead. The Colonials were held without a shot as they trailed going into the half.

In the second half, the Mountaineers looked to add to the lead in the 56′ minute, as Dyon Dromers fired a shot to the bottom center of the net that was saved by Petrelli. Tsukado put another shot on goal at the 60:24-mark but Petrellie was there again with the save to keep it a one goal game.

Robert Morris kept pressing for an equalizer as sophomore midfielder Bryan Akongo put a shot on goal that was unfortunately saved by keeper Jackson Lee. Akongo had other opportunity in the 79′ minute as his shot sailed just left of the post.

Petrelli finished with four saves on eight shots faced while playing all 90 minutes on Thursday night

SCORING PLAYS
35′ – Team

QUICK HITS
Chase Gilley, Logan Gilley, Anass Hadran, Alex Lorigny, and Victor Koah all made their RMU debuts … Petrelli collected four saves … West Virginia finished with an 8-2 shot advantage, including a 4-1 edge in shots on goal … both teams recorded a corner kick.

QUOTABLES
“I’m very proud of the guys effort tonight versus a very good WVU team on the road,” head coach Jason O’Keefe said. “We will learn a great deal from this experience, recover and get back to work. We are excited for the home opener Wednesday versus Duquesne.”

NEXT
Robert Morris returns to action on Wednesday, August 31 when it hosts Duquesne for its home opener at the North Athletic Complex, beginning at 4 p.m.