Xavier University Athletics
Xavier Will Face West Virginia In First Round Of NCAA
11.15.10 | Men's Soccer
Nov. 15, 2010
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CINCINNATI - The Xavier men's soccer team, the 2010 Atlantic 10 Champions, will face Big East foe West Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament. The Musketeers and Mountaineers will play at 7 p.m. Thursday in Morgantown, W. Va.
The Musketeers (10-6-4, 5-4 A-10) advanced to its first NCAA Tournament after defeating La Salle 2-0 in the Atlantic 10 Championship game, earning the conference's automatic bid. The Musketeers became the first team in conference history to advance and win the tournament as a No. 6 seed. They defeated the top three seeds; No. 3 Temple, No. 1 Charlotte and No. 2 La Salle en route to the championship.
The Mountaineers (10-7-2, 5-4 Big East) reached the quarterfinals of the Big East after defeating USF, 2-1. They were eliminated by Louisville, who wound up winning the Big East conference and receiving the No. 1 overall seed.
"I think this is a good draw for us. Coach Le Blanc has done a great job in a short amount of time at WVU and they play at a high tempo and feature one of the nation's most exciting flank players in Ray Gaddis," head coach Andy Fleming said. "I think that our experiences against teams like Indiana, Charlotte and Butler have prepared us well for what we should see from a speed of play standpoint. As the higher seed from a major conference with a strong tradition, they are expected to win and we will play loose, play in our system, and see where the chips fall."
Thursday's match up with be the fifth the two clubs have meet. West Virginia leads the all-time series 3-1.
