Mountaineers score three goals in final minutes to beat Georgia Southern in Sun Belt tournament
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MORGANTOWN -- It felt like it was only a matter of time for West Virginia men's soccer to have the goals start falling. The Mountaineers were all over Georgia Southern, but only had a goal to show for it. Until the final 10 minutes, when the floodgates opened.
The top-seeded WVU scored three goals in the final 10 minutes to beat No. 8 seed Georgia Southern 4-0 in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament Sunday evening.
The Mountaineers advanced to the semifinals, and will play the winner of James Madison-Coastal Carolina, who play Sunday night, on Wednesday. WVU is now 11-2-4 on the year, while Georgia Southern fell to 6-7-4.
The flurry of goals started with Juan Alvarez in the 81st minute. Isaac Scheer rolled it back for Alvarez, who punched it in. Just over a minute later, WVU's top goal-scorer Pablo Pozos added in another. Five minutes later, Sammie Walker made it 4-0 on an unassisted goal.
After it being 1-0 for 70 minutes, the Mountaineers' full attack shone.
"They kept going," head coach Dan Stratford said. "Then we found the second, and then it was probably quite fun to be out there from that moment. It was a case of building on as opposed to protecting anything."
Pozos had two goals in the quarterfinal match. He had the first goal of the game in the 10th minute. His goal was on a feed from Scheer, tallying two assists for him. Pozos is up to nine goals on the year. He's scored in back-to-back games.
"I think I'm somewhat of an unselfish player," Scheer said on his two assists. "I love passing in general."
This is the second game in a row WVU has started fast. Pozos scored in the sixth minute in the regular season finale against James Madison to help the Mountaineers earn the top seed and a share of the Sun Belt Conference regular season championship. He scored in the sixth minute in that game.
WVU wanted to set the tone early, especially being at home and getting the crowd involved quickly.
"We really wanted to be aggressive and start the game well," Stratford said. "I thought we were only okay. I thought the goal would settle us down. I thought the second half was much, much better than what we displayed in the first."
WVU had multiple chances earlier in the second half. In the middle of the half, it hit the post twice. In the final 15 minutes, the Mountaineers won a free kick to potentially make it 2-0. But WVU's cross was unsuccessful after the ball bounced to the keeper. Shortly after, the goals started to fall.
The Mountaineers finished with 12 shots, five on goal and two corners.
WVU's defense had another clean sheet. Goalkeeper Toby Mawer had his seventh-straight shutout, riding high into the semifinals. The Mountaineers kept Georgia Southern out of their half for most of the game.
Towards the end of the game, Georgia Southern had a few chances but was stopped. Mawer ran out on a 50/50 and took a shot. It was worth it to prevent a goal. He had a save on four shots.
Another strong showing from the back line.
"The back four, Toby, all deserved accolades in terms of conference honors," Stratford said. "It's hard to get recognized, but they've been superb for a long period of time now."
The Mountaineers made it to the semifinals last season, too. But WVU lost to Marshall in Morgantown in overtime, 3-2. The Thundering Herd went on to lose to UCF in the championship.
This year, Marshall is the No. 2 seed, sharing the regular season championship with WVU. The Thundering Herd advanced to the semifinals after beating Kentucky in a multi-goal game themselves, 4-1.
WVU has a quick turnaround, playing in three days. The Mountaineers will enjoy the win for a little before turning their attention to the winner of JMU-Coastal Carolina.
"We've moved on already to what is coming on Wednesday," Stratford said. "Both teams are going to be tired on Wednesday. Hopefully our opponent is more tired than we are."