West Liberty’s Men’s soccer team picked up their second win of the season as they came away with a 3-0 victory over Concord University last Friday. The Hilltoppers made the journey to Beckley, WV to face-off against the Mountain Lions, recording their first ever shut-out win in the Mountain East Conference.

The Toppers were coming off the back of an unfortunate loss against Davis & Elkins College the week prior and they looked hungry to get back to winning ways from the first minute of the game. They recorded an early flurry of shots on goal which was capped off by a sublime acrobatic finish from Brazilian freshman Vitor Otsuka, who now has two goals in the same number of games.

WLU continued to put relentless pressure on the Mountain Lions’ defense as both Bernardo Vilchis and Tyler Swafford went close to doubling their lead but a handful of saves from Concord goalkeeper Sean Monro kept the score at 1-0 at the half-way mark.

The second half saw much of the same with the away side continuing their dominance and creating a number of goal scoring opportunities before Josh Yeaman gave them a two goal advantage after a delightful pass from freshman midfielder Danilo Tavares. The performance was then topped off by Spanish defender Mikel Ubeda, who headed home from a corner to give the Toppers a three goal advantage.

Ubedas first goal of the season and his contribution to WLU’s first ever collegiate shutout earned him the MEC Defensive Player of the Week award, another first in program history. He is in his second year at West Liberty, playing in every minute so far this season and recording one goal and one assist.

Starting five freshmen and bringing three off the bench, Head Coach Sean Regan has assembled an extremely young squad which he will be hoping can continue to grow and develop in the coming years. This season presents them with a great opportunity to clinch a playoff spot however, with the Toppers needing at least seven points from the last three games to progress to the postseason.

The first of their last three games comes this Friday, April 2, as West Liberty face off against West Virginia Wesleyan (2-3) at home with a 7 p.m. kick-off, where a win will put them in the driver’s seat to secure a spot in the playoffs. For more information or for updates on the game visit hilltoppersports.com and follow @westlibertymsoccer on instagram.