West Virginia Mountaineers men's soccer

The West Virginia Mountaineers men's soccer team is the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I soccer team of West Virginia University (WVU).[2] Beginning with the 2012 season, the team was an affiliate member of the Mid-American Conference because WVU is the only school in its primary conference, the Big 12 Conference, that has a varsity men's soccer team.[3] For the 2022 season, West Virginia joined in-state rival Marshall in the Sun Belt Conference, and the Mountain State Derby will become an annual conference game. WVU had been scheduled to leave the MAC for Conference USA but this plan was changed when Marshall changed conferences from CUSA to the SBC.[4]

West Virginia Mountaineers
men's soccer
Founded1961; 63 years ago (1961)
UniversityWest Virginia University
Head coachDan Stratford (4th season)
ConferenceSBC
LocationMorgantown, West Virginia
StadiumDick Dlesk Soccer Stadium
(Capacity: 1,600)
NicknameMountaineers
ColorsGold and blue[1]
   
Home
Away
NCAA Tournament College Cup
2023
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
1981, 2021, 2023
NCAA Tournament Round of 16
1966, 1981, 2007, 2021, 2023
NCAA Tournament appearances
1966, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1981, 1992, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024
Conference Tournament championships
1966, 1967, 1992, 2019, 2024
Conference Regular Season championships
2006, 2018, 2024

Coaching staff

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Source:[5]

  • Head coach – Dan Stratford[6][7]
  • Associate Head Coach – Andy Wright (7th season)
  • Assistant – Nick Noble (5th season)
  • Strength Coach – Tanner Kolb (6th season)
  • Athletic Trainer – Ethan Solger

Conference membership

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Source:=[8]

(NOTE: Prior to 1972, the NCAA sponsored only one championship in men's soccer. In 1972, the NCAA began sponsoring a championship in the College Division, which in turn was split into today's Divisions II and III in 1973. The 1972 College Division Tournament was retroactively considered to be the first D-II championship event. WVU remained in competition in the University Division, which was renamed Division I in 1973, and has remained in D-I to this day.)

Rivalries

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Mountain State Derby

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West Virginia's biggest rivals are Marshall, as the two sides are the only Division 1 men's soccer teams in the state. Both teams are members of the Sun Belt Conference for men's soccer, and matches between the two teams typically draw large crowds.

Big 12 Derby and Big 12 / SEC Challenge

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As West Virginia and Central Florida are the only two Big 12 schools that sponsor the sport, since 2023, the two teams have in the Sun Belt a rivalry similar to Kentucky and South Carolina, Southeastern Conference members in that their derby is for the honour of their regular conference. In addition, the four teams have a four-way rivalry, the "Big 12 / SEC Challenge," inside the Sun Belt.

All-Americans

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Source:=[8]

  • 1967 — Ron McEachen, Defender; NSCAA 1st Team
  • 1967 — Walt Nistorenko, Forward; NSCAA 3rd Team
  • 1968 — Walt Nistorenko, Forward; NSCAA 1st Team
  • 1968 — Pat Sullivan, Defender; NSCAA 1st Team
  • 1981 — Jon Capon, Goalkeeper; NSCAA 1st Team
  • 2006 — Nick Noble, Goalkeeper; NSCAA 1st Team; College Soccer News 2nd Team
  • 2006 — Jarrod Smith, Forward; College Soccer News 1st Team; Soccer America 1st team
  • 2007 — Andy Wright, Midfielder; NSCAA 3rd Team; College Soccer News 2nd Team; Soccer America 2nd team
  • 2010 — Raymon Gaddis, Defender; Top Drawer Soccer 3rd Team
  • 2011 — Eric Schoenle, Defender; NSCAA 3rd Team
  • 2012 — Eric Schoenle, Defender; Top Drawer Soccer 3rd Team

Record by year

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Statistics overview
Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Jim Markel (Single Division Independent[8]) (1961–1962)
1961 Jim Markel 2–5–3
1962 Jim Markel 8–2–0
Jim Markel: 10–7–3 (.575)
Sam Maurice (Single Division Independent[8]) (1963–1964)
1963 Sam Maurice 7–3–0
1964 Sam Maurice 8–2–0
Sam Maurice: 15–5–0 (.750)
Greg Meyers (Single Division Independent[8]) (1965–1966)
1965 Greg Meyers 7–5–1
Greg Meyers (Southern Conference[9]) (1965–1966)
1966 Greg Meyers 13–2–0 Tournament only NCAA 1st round
Greg Meyers: 20–7–1 (.732)
John Stewart (Southern Conference[9]) (1967–1967)
1967 John Stewart 11–1–0 Tournament only
John Stewart (Single Division Independent[8]) (1968–1968)
1968 John Stewart 8–1–1 NCAA 1st round
John Stewart: 19–2–1 (.886)
John McGrath (Single Division Independent[8]) (1969–1971)
1969 John McGrath 4–5–1
1970 John McGrath 3–8–0
1971 John McGrath 9–3–0 NCAA 1st round
John McGrath (Division I Independent[8]) (1972–1986)
1972 John McGrath 10–3–0 NCAA 1st round
1973 John McGrath 10–2–3 NCAA 1st round
1974 John McGrath 5–4–4
1975 John McGrath 8–5–1
1976 John McGrath 6–6–1
1977 John McGrath 2–9–2
1978 John McGrath 8–6–1
1979 John McGrath 8–6–2
1980 John McGrath 10–2–3
1981 John McGrath 11–5–0 NCAA Quarterfinals
1982 John McGrath 8–7–2
1983 John McGrath 10–7–1
1984 John McGrath 5–8–4
1985 John McGrath 4–12–3
1986 John McGrath 7–6–3
John McGrath (Atlantic 10 Conference[10]) (1987–1994)
1987 John McGrath 8–8–2 1–1–1 3rd (West)
1988 John McGrath 6–11–1 0–3–0 3rd (West)
1989 John McGrath 9–8–1 1–2–0 3rd (West)
1990 John McGrath 12–5–1 4–3–1 5th
1991 John McGrath 9–8–0 3–4–0 6th
1992 John McGrath 10–7–3 4–3–0 4th NCAA 1st round
1993 John McGrath 5–12–1 3–4–0 t-6th
1994 John McGrath 10–9–1 3–4–0 t-4th
John McGrath (Big East Conference[11]) (1995–1995)
1995 John McGrath 5–9–4 3–5–3 t-8th
John McGrath: 203–181–44 (.526) 22–29–5
Paul Marco (Big East Conference[11]) (1996–2000)
1996 Paul Marco 7–12–1 3–7–3 11th
1997 Paul Marco 7–13–0 3–8–0 11th
1998 Paul Marco 11–8–1 4–6–1 t-8th
1999 Paul Marco 13–5–1 8–3–1 3rd
2000 Paul Marco 4–13–1 1–9–1 12th
Paul Marco: 42–51–4 (.454) 19–33–6
Keith Fulk (Big East Conference[11]) (2001–2002)
2001 Keith Fulk 5–11–0 1–9–0 12th
2002 Keith Fulk 4–11–2 1–8–1 13th
Keith Fulk: 9–22–1 (.303) 2–17–1
Mike Seabolt (Big East Conference[11]) (2003–2005)
2003 Mike Seabolt 5–10–3 1–6–3 13th
2004 Mike Seabolt 12–7–1 5–4–1 t-5th
2005 Mike Seabolt 13–8–2 6–4–1 t-3rd NCAA 2nd round
Mike Seabolt: 30–25–6 (.541) 12–14–5
Marlon LeBlanc (Big East Conference[11]) (2006–2011)
2006 Marlon LeBlanc 15–3–3 9–0–1 1st (Blue) (+1st seed) NCAA 2nd round
2007 Marlon LeBlanc 14–6–2 7–3–1 3rd (Blue) NCAA Round of 16
2008 Marlon LeBlanc 5–9–5 3–4–4 5th (Blue)
2009 Marlon LeBlanc 7–5–6 6–3–2 3rd (Blue)
2010 Marlon LeBlanc 10–7–2 5–4–0 4th (Blue) NCAA 2nd round
2011 Marlon LeBlanc 11–8–1 6–3–0 2nd (Blue) NCAA 2nd round
Marlon LeBlanc (Mid-American Conference[12]) (2012–2019)
2012 Marlon LeBlanc 9–6–1 4–2–1 t-2nd
2013 Marlon LeBlanc 7–7–5 2–2–2 t-4th
2014 Marlon LeBlanc 11–7–1 3–1–1 2nd
2015 Marlon LeBlanc 6–12–0 2–3–0 4th
2016 Marlon LeBlanc 8–7–1 1–4–0 6th
2017 Marlon LeBlanc 9–6–4 1–2–2 4th of 6
2018 Marlon LeBlanc 14–7–0 5–0–0 1st NCAA 2nd round
2019 Marlon LeBlanc 10–9–2 0–4–1 6th of 6 NCAA 2nd round
Marlon LeBlanc: 127–93–29 (.568) 48–29–12
Dan Stratford (Mid-American Conference) (2020–2021)
2020 Dan Stratford 6–3–1 4–3–1 3rd
2021 Dan Stratford 12–3–6 4–1–1 2nd NCAA quarterfinals
Dan Stratford (Sun Belt Conference) (2022–present)
2022 Dan Stratford 7–7–4 3–1–4 4th Sun Belt Semifinals
Dan Stratford: 25–13–11 (.622) 11–5–6
Total: x-y-z x-y-z

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ "West Virginia Mountaineers Athletic Identity Logoslick" (PDF). April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  2. ^ "NCAA Sports Sponsorship Division I Men's Soccer". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  3. ^ "MAC Announces 2016 Men's Soccer Coaches' Poll". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  4. ^ Carey, Greg (2022-04-06). "West Virginia men's soccer joins Sun Belt; Marshall also part of nine-team league". WV MetroNews. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
  5. ^ "Men's Soccer Coaching Staff". West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  6. ^ "LeBlanc steps down as WVU men's soccer coach". wdtv.com/. December 12, 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Dan Stratford introduced as WVU's 10th men's soccer head coach". wvmetronews.com/. January 25, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h "Mountaineer Men's Soccer Record Book" (PDF). West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  9. ^ a b "Southern Conference Men's Soccer Record Book" (PDF). Southern Conference. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  10. ^ "Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Soccer Record Book" (PDF). Atlantic 10 Conference. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Big East Conference Men's Soccer Record Book" (PDF). Big East Conference. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  12. ^ "Mid-American Conference Men's Soccer Record Book" (PDF). Mid-American Conference. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
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