Thursday, August 20
Charlotte, N.C.
7:00 PM
West Virginia University
0-1-0, 0-0-0
0
at
3
Charlotte
1-0-0, 0-0-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charlotte | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Photo by: Charlotte Athletics
Mountaineers Fall to Charlotte in Season Opener
August 20, 2026 09:22 PM | Men's Soccer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 23 West Virginia University men's soccer team dropped its season opener on the road at Charlotte, 3-0, Thursday evening at Jen Gaber Field. The Mountaineers fall to 39-22-5 all-time in season openers and suffer their first defeat to begin a season since 2016.
Shots were even, 9-9, with Charlotte holding a 7-4 advantage in shots on goal while the Mountaineers had an 8-4 edge in corner kicks.
Junior Kanta Ishii led West Virginia with three shots while sophomore Tyler Londono Zapata and senior Pablo Pozos each had two shots. Redshirt sophomore Toby Mawer made four saves in his first career start between the pipes.
Charlotte took the lead in the 25th minute. In the final minute WVU had a chance as the ball bounced around the box before being booted out by the 49ers. On the ensuing counter-attack, Charlotte's Larry Noel caught Mawer out of position and scored from distance with just 20 seconds remaining in the half.
In the second half, the 49ers scored a third goal in the 67th minute. In the 79th minute, sophomore Julen Recalde was taken down just outside the box by 49er goalkeeper Alex Svetanoff, who was given a red card. WVU played up a man for the final 11 minutes, but the deficit proved to be too much to overcome.
West Virginia will play its home opener on Monday, Aug. 24. Kickoff at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium is set for 6 p.m.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Shots were even, 9-9, with Charlotte holding a 7-4 advantage in shots on goal while the Mountaineers had an 8-4 edge in corner kicks.
Junior Kanta Ishii led West Virginia with three shots while sophomore Tyler Londono Zapata and senior Pablo Pozos each had two shots. Redshirt sophomore Toby Mawer made four saves in his first career start between the pipes.
Charlotte took the lead in the 25th minute. In the final minute WVU had a chance as the ball bounced around the box before being booted out by the 49ers. On the ensuing counter-attack, Charlotte's Larry Noel caught Mawer out of position and scored from distance with just 20 seconds remaining in the half.
In the second half, the 49ers scored a third goal in the 67th minute. In the 79th minute, sophomore Julen Recalde was taken down just outside the box by 49er goalkeeper Alex Svetanoff, who was given a red card. WVU played up a man for the final 11 minutes, but the deficit proved to be too much to overcome.
West Virginia will play its home opener on Monday, Aug. 24. Kickoff at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium is set for 6 p.m.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
MF
/ Men's Soccer
MF
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's SoccerTeam Stats
WVU
CT
Goals
0
3
Shots
9
9
Shots on Goal
4
7
Saves
4
4
Corners
8
4
Fouls
6
15
Scoring Plays
Michael Raggett (2)
Assisted By: Natsuki Ogata , Eirikur Beck
GOAL by CT Raggett, Michael Assist by Ogata, Natsuki and Beck, Eirikur.
24:35
Larry Noel (1)
GOAL by CT Noel, Larry.
45:00
Michael Raggett (2)
Assisted By: Wiktor Pucilowski
GOAL by CT Raggett, Michael Assist by Pucilowski, Wiktor.
66:26
Game Leaders
mid
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
fwd
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
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