NORFOLK, Va. – Ethan Dekl Daks was on the receiving end of a Sam Nyenka feed eight minutes into the second half and fifth-ranked West Virginia made it stand up in a 1-0 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer win over Old Dominion in front of 1,767 fans at the ODU Soccer Stadium Saturday.
“It was amazing to see so many fans in the stands tonight. To see over 1700 soccer fans in ‘The Den’ is really special. I hope everyone had a great time tonight, despite the result, but we will be really working hard this week to move forward, regroup and get after Marshall,” said ODU Head Coach Tennant McVea.
After a scoreless first half, West Virginia (5-0-2, 1-0-0) cranked up the pressure in the second half. After forcing a turnover, Nyenka then found Dekl Daks in the box who slid it into the back of the net at the 53:16 mark. WVU outshot ODU in the second half 8-4 and had seven corner kicks to one for the Monarchs.
The first half saw Old Dominion (4-3-1, 0-1-0) jump out quickly and drew a free kick just outside the box in the first 70 seconds, but a William Arnesen blast just sailed over the crossbar. ODU held a fair amount of the possession in the first half and held a 4-1 advantage in shots and 3-0 in corner kicks.
On the night, WVU held a slim 9-8 advantage in shots and a 7-4 margin on corner kicks.
“Obviously disappointed not to get something in the game this evening. I thought the boys played very well in the first half, but not quite up to scratch in the second. Proud of the guys work rate tonight, just disappointed in the result,” McVea added.
ODU is on the road for another top-10 match in the Sun Belt on Sunday, September 29 when they visit Marshall.