West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University men's soccer team will be back at the West Family Athletic Complex on Sunday afternoon as they welcome West Virginia Wesleyan to the hilltop. The Hilltoppers and Bobcats are set for a 1 p.m. kickoff.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: West Liberty, W.Va. (West Family Athletic Complex)
• Kickoff: 1 P.M.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Sunday's match with a record of 4-2-2 (3-2-1 MEC) on the season and is currently tied for third in the Mountain East Conference standings with ten points through six matches.
• The Black & Gold moved up one spot in the United Soccer Coaches Atlantic Region rankings this past week, going from No. 9 to No. 8 in the region on Tuesday.
• In their last game, WLU fell on the road to Charleston for only their second loss of the season, 1-0 to the Golden Eagles. Both of the Hilltoppers' losses this season have come to ranked opponents, No. 15 Notre Dame (September 10) and No. 12 Charleston (September 27).
• Mark Donnelly leads West Liberty and is tied for fifth in the MEC with three goals on the year. Vitor Otsuka and Zachary Forehand have both found the back of the net twice this season.
• Otsuka is one of five players of the team with an assist and has notched a team-high of five, which is also tied for the lead in the conference. Tim Stickland, Jan Goebel, Shimon Ichimiya, and Jasper Newton each have one.
• Otsuka (2 goals, 5 assists) leads the team with nine points while Donnelly (3 goals) is second on the team with six points. Otsuka is tied for fourth among the MEC leaders.
• In goal, Noah Underwood has played 630 minutes thus far this season. He has made 30 saves for a .857 save percentage on 74 shots faced. He has notched three shutouts this season in wins over No. 12 Davis & Elkins, California (PA), and Wheeling. Underwood ranks second in the conference in saves per game (4.29) and is tied for second in the league in total saves and shutouts. He was named the MEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week this past Monday afternoon with six saves and a 0.857 save percentage last week.
• Through eight matches, West Liberty holds the advantage over their opponents in goals (14-6), assists (9-2), shots (91-82), shots-on-goal (43-40), corner kicks (46-36), and saves (33-27.
• The Hilltoppers' lead the MEC with a 0.846 save percentage and are tied for second with two penalty kick goals. Their six goals allowed are the third fewest allowed this season in the league while also ranking third in opponent scoring average (0.75), scoring margin (+1.00), and saves (33).
• Sean Regan is in his fifth season as the head coach at West Liberty with a record of 20-43-7 with the Hilltoppers. Overall, he is in his 15th season as a head coach in collegiate men's soccer after spending ten previous seasons at nearby Bethany, he holds a career record of 81-161-19 during his time with the Bison and Hilltoppers.

WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN STORYLINES

• West Virginia Wesleyan enters Sunday's match with a record of 5-3-1 (4-2-1 MEC) on the season and is tied for third in the Mountain East Conference standings with ten points through six matches.
• The Bobcats fell one spot in this past week's United Soccer Coaches' Atlantic Region poll that was released on Tuesday, falling from No. 8 to No. 9.
• WVWC enters the match having lost their last two matches, and most recently a 6-2 loss at Notre Dame last Wednesday.
• Sinasi Emre Deniz is second in the MEC with six goals on the year while Casey Bunker, Max Evans, and Erik Rostoen have each found the back of the net twice.
• Bunker is the lone Bobcat to record multiple assists this season with two as six other players have notched one.
• Deniz (6 goals, 1 assist) has accumulated 13 points to lead WVWC and is second in the conference. Bunker (2 goals, 2 assists) is second on the team with six points on the season.
• Bryant Sheffield has started and played eight matches for West Virginia Wesleyan, totaling 656 minutes in goal while making 28 saves with a 0.757 save percentage on 89 shots faced. He holds a 1.234 goals against average to go along with three shutouts this season.
• Through nine matches, Wesleyan has held the advantage in goals (16-11), assists (8-6), shots-on-goal (45-44), corner kicks (50-46), and saves (32-28) while their opponents' have held a 102-98 edge in shots.
• Josh Spencer is in his second season as the head coach at West Virginia Wesleyan with a 12-11-5 career record during his time with the Bobcats.

SERIES HISTORY

• West Virginia Wesleyan leads the all-time series 4-1-2.
• Last season the Bobcats won 5-1 on September 18, 2022, in Buckhannon, and then the teams tied 1-1 on October 23, 2022, in West Liberty.