West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University men's soccer team will travel to face No. 12 Charleston on Wednesday evening. The match-up will feature the league leading Golden Eagles and the Hilltoppers, who are currently tied for second in the conference standings. WLU and UC are set for a 7 p.m. kickoff at the Welch Athletic Complex in Charleston.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: Charleston, W.Va. (Welch Athletic Complex)
• Kickoff: 7 P.M.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Sunday's match with a record of 4-1-2 (3-1-1 MEC) on the season and is currently tied for second in the Mountain East Conference standings with ten points through five matches. The Hilltoppers are off to their best start in program history overall and in conference play.
• The Black & Gold moved up one spot in the United Soccer Coaches Atlantic Region rankings this week, going from No. 9 to No. 8 in the region.
• In their last game, WLU secured their third shutout of the season with a 2-0 win over Wheeling as Joseph Fonagy and Cormac McGinley recorded their first goals of the season.
• Mark Donnelly leads West Liberty and is tied for fourth 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 also leads 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 ranked third among the MEC leaders.
• In goal, Noah Underwood has played 540 minutes thus far this season. He has made 24 saves for a .857 save percentage on 51 shots faced. He has notched three shutouts this season in wins over No. 12 Davis & Elkins, California (PA), and Wheeling. Underwood is second in the league in total saves and shutouts. He was named the MEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon with six saves and a 0.857 save percentage last week.
• Through seven matches, West Liberty holds the advantage over their opponents in goals (14-5), assists (9-2), shots (91-59), shots-on-goal (43-33), and corner kicks (44-27). WLU and their opponents are even in saves with 27 apiece.
• The Hilltoppers' five goals allowed are tied for the second fewest allowed this season in the MEC, and they are also second with two penalty kick goals and a 0.844 save percentage. The Black & Gold rank third in the conference in scoring margin (+1.29) and corner kicks (44) while also being tied for third in opponent scoring average (0.71).
• Sean Regan is in his fifth season as the head coach at West Liberty with a record of 20-42-7 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 81-160-19 during his time with the Bison and Hilltoppers.

#12 CHARLESTON STORYLINES

• Charleston enters Wednesday's match with a record of 6-1 (4-1 MEC) on the season and is first in the Mountain East Conference standings with 12 points through five matches.
• The Golden Eagles enter the match having one three consecutive games, and most recently a 2-1 win at Concord last Wednesday.
• Joao Belmudes leads UC and is third in the MEC with four goals on the year while Eduardo Barros is tied for fourth in the conference with three goals.
• Alejandro Gomez and Caio Morae are tied for the team lead and seventh in the league with two assists on the season.
• Belmudes (4 goals) has accumulated eight points to lead the Golden Eagles and is fourth in conference. Barros (3 goals) has totaled six points and is tied for seventh in the MEC.
• Marc Torrado has started and played four matches for Charleston, totaling 360 minutes in goal while making 11 saves with a 0.846 save percentage on 28 shots faced. He holds a 0.50 goals against average with a pair of shutouts against Davis & Elkins and Notre Dame.
• Through seven matches, Charleston has held the advantage in goals (19-5), assists (12-1), shots (121-41), shots-on-goal (58-21), and corner kicks (40-13), while their opponents' have held a 36-16 edge in saves.
• UC is second in the MEC in goals (19), scoring average (2.714), and scoring margin (+2.00), while tying for the second fewest goals allowed (5). They are also tied for third with a 0.71 opponent scoring average.
• Daniel Smee is in his fourth season as the head coach at Charleston with a record of 55-5-3 during his time with the Golden Eagles.

SERIES HISTORY

• Charleston leads the all-time series 8-1 and has won the last eight meetings.
• Last season the Golden Eagles won 3-0 on August 28, 2022, in Charleston, and 6-1 on October 1, 2022, in West Liberty.