WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The youthful West Liberty University men's soccer team turned in one of its stronger performances of the season here Wednesday but it went unrewarded as regionally-ranked Urbana escaped with a 2-0 victory under the lights at the West Family Athletic Complex.
      The Blue Knights (4-3-3-, 4-2-2) entered the contest as the No. 9-ranked team in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region but Coach Jim Regan's Hilltoppers (1-8-1, 1-7-1) outshot Urbana by a 13-11 count but couldn't find the net.
      Jasminko Dizdarevic, the leading scorer in the MEC, staked the visitors to a 1-0 lead when he was awarded a penalty kick and converted in the 37th minute.
      West Liberty controlled the run of play for long stretches of the second half but couldn't come up with the equalizer thanks to a strong effort from Urbana netminder Jakob Henriksen.
      Following back-to-back saves by Henriksen on Marco Chang and Josh Yeaman, Dizdarevic ripped a shot into the top right corner of the cage from the left side of the 18 for a 2-0 Urbana lead with less than 3 minutes remaining.
      Jorn Hocter had 3 saves in net for WLU while Henriksen was charted with 4 saves for the Blue Knights.
      West Liberty returns to action on Sunday when the Hilltoppers host No. 10-ranked Charleston in a 1 p.m. match. A special dedication ceremony for the West Family Athletic Complex and the Tim Weaver Memorial Track will precede the contest.
  Urbana                                                       1  1 – 2
West Liberty                                            0  0 – 0         UU: Jasminko Dizdarevic (penalty kick), 36:18         UU: Jasminko Dizdarevic (unassisted), 86:18         Shots: Urbana 11, West Liberty 13
        Saves: Urbana 4 (Jakob Henriksen 4), West Liberty 3 (Jorn Hocter 3)
        Corners: Urbana 0, West Liberty 1
A: 151