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WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY MEN’S SOCCER 2021 SEASON REVIEW

» West Virginia finished 12-3-6 overall in coach Dan Stratford’s second season at the helm, including 4-1-1 in MidAmerican Conference action.

» The Mountaineers reached the NCAA Quarterfinals for the second time in program history and first since 1981.

» WVU earned the No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament, its highest national seed since 2007.

» West Virginia finished at No. 8 in the final United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll, good for the highest finish in program history.

» The squad also finished at No. 7 in the TopDrawerSoccer poll, as well as No. 8 by College Soccer News.

» The squad reached as high as No. 3 in the United Soccer Coaches poll on Sept. 28, marking the highest ranking by the poll in program history.

» WVU finished 8-0-3 at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in 2021, the club’s first unbeaten, home campaign since 2007. » Redshirt sophomore defender Bjarne Thiesen was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-America Third Team, while fifth-year senior defender Kevin Morris and sophomore midfielder Ryan Baer were all-region selections.

» Thiesen also was featured on TopDrawerSoccer’s Best XI Third Team. Additionally, freshman defender Frederick Jorgensen was named to the Freshman Best XI Second Team by TDS.

» For the second consecutive season, Morris was placed on the Academic All-America First Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Senior defender Aaron Denk Gracia was selected to the third team.

» Four Mountaineers earned All-MAC recognition, as junior midfielder Luke McCormick was placed on the conference’s first team, while Morris, fifth-year senior goalkeeper Steven Tekesky and sophomore forward Ciro Bourlot Jaeggi were picked for the second team. » The Mountaineers were recognized with the Team Academic Award by the United Soccer Coaches for the 14th straight year.

» WVU earned its 500th victory in program history with a 2-1 win over Georgia State on Oct. 28.

» A program-best 14 different Mountaineers combined to score the club’s 35 goals.

» Morris became the program’s all-time leader in career matches played (92), career starts (83) and minutes played (8,140).

» Additionally, Tekesky tied for WVU’s No. 1 mark in career wins (45), as well as career starts by a goalkeeper (81). He also ranks No. 1 in WVU history in career matches played by a goalkeeper (83).

» The club’s season-opening unbeaten streak reached 10 games, good for its longest ever to begin a campaign.