West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty men's soccer team will see a consistent contender for the Mountain East Conference championship in game number one of the season as they travel to face No. 12 Davis & Elkins on Saturday night. The Hilltoppers will look for their first-ever top-25 victory in the contest as well as their first-ever win against the Senators.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: Elkins, W.Va. (Nuttall Field)
• Kick-Off: 7 P.M.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty posted a 3-11-4 (3-9-4 MEC) record in 2022, finishing in a tie for sixth in the Mountain East Conference.
• The Hilltoppers made their first-ever MEC Tournament appearance a year ago, falling to No. 21 Notre Dame (Ohio) by a score of 5-1 in the quarterfinals.
• WLU was picked seventh in the 2023 MEC Preseason Men's Soccer Coaches' Poll.
• Noah Underwood and Vitor Otsuka return having been named honorable mention All-MEC a year ago.
• Underwood brings considerable experience in goal for West Liberty, playing in 54 career games with 256 career saves for the Hilltoppers.
• Otsuka returns as the team's leading scorer in 2022, recording ten points off two goals and six assists.
• Joining Otsuka as a returner are five players who scored a goal last season. Joseph Fonagy returns after leading the team with four goals, while Oskar Voges scored three goals, Danilo Tavares had two goals, and Alex Anderson and Mark Donnelly each added one goal apiece.
• Sean Regan enters his fifth season as the head coach at West Liberty with a record of 16-41-5 with the Hilltoppers. Overall, he enters his 15^th season as a head coach in collegiate men's soccer after spending ten previous seasons at nearby Bethany, he holds a career record of 77-159-17 during his time with the Bison and Hilltoppers.

#12 DAVIS & ELKINS STORYLINES

• Davis & Elkins posted a 16-3-1 (14-2 MEC) record in 2022, finishing second in the Mountain East Conference.
• The Senators received a bye to the semifinals of the MEC Tournament a year ago, however they were upset at home by #21 Notre Dame who held a 3-2 advantage in penalty kicks after being tied at two in regulation and overtime.
• Davis & Elkins received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Tournament, defeating the four seed Mercy College 3-0 in the second round before falling to the eventual national champions, Franklin Pierce, by a score of 2-1 in the Sweet 16.
• D&E was picked third in the 2023 MEC Preseason Men's Soccer Coaches' Poll.
• The Senators will look towards Dominique Castano as their top returner from 2022. He recorded 15 points on the season, scoring three goals and adding nine assists. Mattia Bui will be another key name to watch for Davis & Elkins as he scored two goals a year ago.
• The Senators bring in 24 freshmen for the 2023 season and will look to the leadership and experience of 12 upperclassmen.
• Meir Lewin enters his first season as the head coach at Davis & Elkins, bringing with him a 30-12-6 career record after three seasons at NCAA Division II North Carolina Wesleyan.

SERIES HISTORY

• Davis & Elkins holds the all-time series lead 7-0-0, with all matches occurring after the Senators joined the MEC starting in the 2019 season.
• D&E swept WLU in 2022 with a 3-0 win in West Liberty and a 7-1 win in Elkins.