West Liberty, W.Va. – Coming off the biggest win in program history, the West Liberty men's soccer team will make their season debut on the hilltop on Wednesday afternoon by welcoming Concord to the West Family Athletic Complex. The Hilltoppers and Mountain Lions are slated for a 6 p.m. kick-off.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: West Liberty, W.Va. (West Family Athletic Complex)
• Kick-Off: 6 P.M.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Wednesday's match with a record of 1-0 (1-0 MEC) on the season, following a season opening upset of No. 12 Davis & Elkins (4-0) on the road.
• The Hilltoppers' victory over the Senators marked the first ever Top-25 victory in program history as well as it's first ever win over D&E.
• The West Liberty win propelled themselves into the United Soccer Coaches Regional Rankings for the first time in program history, coming in at No. 8 in the Atlantic Region on Tuesday afternoon.
• WLU saw four different players score goals in their first game of the season: Vitor Otsuka, Tim Stickland, Zachary Forehand, and Federico Murrau. The goals were assisted by Stickland, Otsuka (2), and Jan Goebel.
• The Hilltoppers' 12 points (4 goals, 4 assists) in the season opener was the most by any Mountain East Conference team in the first week of play. West Liberty is also tied for the most goals and assists in a game in the league.
• With one goal and two assists, Otsuka leads the MEC with four points after game number one. He also leads the conference in assists. Stickland is tied for second in the league with three points after adding a goal and assist of his own.
• Noah Underwood played the full 90 minutes of Saturday's contest against D&E, saving all three shot-on-goal attempts for his ninth career shutout.
• West Liberty held the advantage in shots (11-5) and shots-on-goal (8-3), while Davis & Elkins held the edge in corner kicks (4-3) during the first game of the season.
• Sean Regan is in his fifth season as the head coach at West Liberty with a record of 17-41-5 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 78-159-17 during his time with the Bison and Hilltoppers.

CONCORD STORYLINES

• Concord enters Wednesday's match with a record of 1-0 on the season, following a season opening victory over Salem (3-0) at home.
• Three different CU players scored in the opening match of the season: Elvis Gomez, Thomas Kelly, and Andre Nicholson. The goals were assisted by Armando Ramirez, Andre Sardinha, Fabian Amhof, and Nicholson.
• Keegan Grant played all 90 minutes in goal for the Mountain Lions, making saves on all three Tiger shot-on-goal attempts to secure the shutout.
• Concord held the advantage in shots (12-7) and shots-on-goal (6-3), while Salem held the edge in corner kicks (6-3) during the first game of the season.
• CU was picked to finish eighth in the 2023 MEC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Alex Smith is in first season as head coach at Concord with a record of 1-0 with the Mountain Lions. Overall, he is in his second season as a head coach in collegiate men's soccer after spending the 2022 season at Bluefield, he holds a career record of 8-9 during his time with the Rams and Mountain Lions.

SERIES HISTORY

• West Liberty owns a 6-1 all-time record over Concord, winning six consecutive since the inaugural match in 2019.
• The Hilltoppers defeated the Mountain Lions by scores of 4-1 at home on August 31 and 3-1 on the road in Beckley on October 16.