WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – A strong second half effort from the West Liberty University men's soccer team wasn't enough to battle back from a first-half deficit here Wednesday night as Concord held on for a 2-0 win in Mountain East Conference action at the West Family Athletic Complex.
      Coach Sean Regan's Hilltoppers (0-2-0, 0-2-0) found themselves under heavy pressure throughout the first half as the aggressive Mountain Lions (2-0-1, 1-0-1) kept play in the WLU end of the field for much of the first 45 minutes.
      West Liberty netminder Noah Underwood teamed with the Black and Gold back line to keep a clean sheet for the majority of the first half but Concord eventually broke through with two goals in a span of just over a minute.
      The first Mountain Lion score came off a set piece in the 31st minute when Michael Shelor finished off a Courtney Skerritt corner kick from just outside the six. Just over a minute later, Bruno Baptista found the top corner of the net off a scrum from point blank range and the visitors had a 2-0 lead.
      Concord outshot the Hilltoppers, 12-3, in the first half but Montgomery came through with four saves to keep the hosts in the game.
      West Liberty found a bit more offense in the second half, posting a 7-2 edge in shots for the final 45 minutes, but couldn't get one past Kyle Brown. The Mountain Lion keeper was charted with 2 saves in posting his third straight shutout of the young season.
      The Hilltoppers will look to break into the win column on Sunday when they host Frostburg State in another MEC test. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at the West Family Athletic Complex.
  Concord                                                   2  0 - 2
West Liberty                                            0  0 - 0         CU: Michael Shelor (Courney Skerritt), 30:39
        CU: Bruno Baptista (unassisted), 32:52         Shots: Concord 14, West Liberty 10
        Saves: Concord 2 (Kyle Brown 2), West Liberty 4 (Noah Underwood 4)
        Corners: Concord 4, West Liberty 1
A: 121