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ANDY WRIGHT ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH 7TH SEASON

Former West Virginia University men’s soccer All-American Andy Wright enters his seventh season on the Mountaineer men’s coaching staff and his third as associate head coach in 2022.

Wright, a Mountaineer from 2004-07 and one of the top players in program history, returned to Morgantown after concluding a successful playing career, in which he played for five clubs from 2007-15.

In his six seasons back at WVU, he has helped guide the Mountaineers to two conference titles, three NCAA Tournament berths, multiple weeks in the national rankings and numerous national athletic and academic honors.

West Virginia enjoyed one of its most successful seasons in program history in 2021. The squad finished 12-3-6 on the year and appeared in the NCAA Quarterfinal for the first time since 1981.

The team also set a variety of programbest marks, including the highest ranking in team history (No. 3 by United Soccer Coaches) and highest final ranking (No. 8 by United Soccer Coaches). Additionally, a program-record 14 different players found the back of the net during the year.

WVU earned the No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament, its highest national seed since 2007, largely due to its 8-0-3 record at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, which was its first unblemished, home campaign in 14 seasons.

Individually, defender Bjarne Thiesen was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-America Third Team, while defender Kevin Morris and midfielder Ryan Baer were all-region selections. Thiesen also was featured on TopDrawerSoccer’s Best XI Third Team, joining defender Frederik Jorgensen, who was named to the Freshman Best XI Second Team by TDS.

The success also translated into the classroom. For the second consecutive season, Morris was placed on the Academic All-America First Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Defender Aaron Denk Gracia was selected to the third team. Additionally, nine members of the year earned Academic All-MAC honors.

A year before, Wright helped lead the Mountaineers through unprecedented times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the cancelation of the fall season, West Virginia finished 6-3-1 in its spring-only campaign from February-April 2021. Perhaps the biggest highlight of the year came on March 24, when WVU topped eventual National Champion Marshall, 1-0, at home. WVU allowed just six total goals on the year and totaled six shutouts.

Five Mountaineers earned a spot on the All-MAC Team following the season, as goalkeeper Steven Tekesky and midfielders Ike Swiger and Luke McCormick earned first-team honors, while midfielder Paul Jimenez Albelda and Morris were awarded second-team distinction. In the classroom, nine players were featured on the Academic All-MAC Team, including Morris, who went on to become a CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team selection, the program’s first 2016. In 2019, WVU won its first MAC Tournament title, winning three matches in six days to earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Mountaineers reached the NCAA Second Round for the second consecutive season, while finishing

the campaign with a 10-9-2 mark. Defender Sebastian GarciaHerreros was named to the MAC Second Team, while four players reached the MAC All-Tournament Team, Tekesky, the Tournament MVP. In the classroom, WVU continued to excel, as nine members of the team were named to the Academic All-MAC Team.

WVU was ranked as high as No. 19 in the national polls at one point during the season and finished No. 1 in the MAC and No. 26 nationally with 38 assists as a team.

West Virginia won the MAC regular-season title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round in 2018. With a 14-7-0 record and a 5-0-0 mark in conference play, the Mountaineers were one win shy of the tying the program record and one of just two teams in the country to record a 1.000 winning percentage in conference play. WVU finished the season in the top-25 in each of the major poll’s final rankings, coming in as high as No. 17, while senior midfielder Joey Piatczyc earned three All-America accolades, was the MAC Player of the Year and was drafted in the fourth round of the MLS SuperDraft by the New York Red Bulls. Piatczyc and Tekesky were named to the All-MAC First Team, while four earned second team accolades.

The record-setting 2018 campaign for West Virginia included 51 assists and 129 shots on goal, both program bests. WVU’s 21 matches played and 135 total points were tied for third-most in school history. In 2017, the Mountaineers earned a top-25 ranking for five weeks, coming in as high as No. 14, while the team recorded nine shutouts, tied for the fifth-most in a single season in program history. One of the shutouts was a 1-0 victory over then-No. 5 Michigan State.

As a team, WVU earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award for the 10th consecutive season. The list of individual award winners were highlighted by goalkeeper Stephen Banick and defender Ryan Kellogg, who were recognized on the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team, and defender Steven James, Garcia-Herreros and Kellogg, who were named Distinguished Scholar-Athletes by the Mid-American Conference. Wright’s first season back at West Virginia saw the Mountaineers in the top-25 for six consecutive weeks, ranking as high as No. 15, and ranked in all four major polls for two weeks in a row. The season’s second game saw WVU beat then-No. 7 Georgetown, 1-0, which began a string of seven consecutive shutouts, the longest in program history.

Additionally, defender Jack Elliott capped an impressive career by earning Academic All-America First Team honors and was named to the 2016 All-Great Lakes Region First Team by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Elliott was selected in the fourth round (77th overall) by the Philadelphia Union in the 2017 Major League Soccer SuperDraft.

A three-time All-American, Wright ranks in the top-10 in team history in numerous statistical categories. During his time donning the Gold and Blue, he helped lead the Mountaineers to three NCAA Tournaments and was named the Big East Midfielder of the Year in 2007. In all, he was a three-time Big East All-Conference selection from 2005-07.

The Southport, England, native played in 83 matches in his WVU career, tied for fourth-most all time, with 80 starts, thirdmost. He netted 11 game-winning goals, one shy of the program record. Wright assisted on eight game-winning goals, third-most in team history, and he is second with 30 game-winning points in his career.

Wright played 6,755 minutes at WVU, which ranked No. 2 in program history at the time, while his 17 assists tied for secondmost at the conclusion of his Mountaineer tenure.

PERSONAL

BORN: January 15, 1985 HOMETOWN: Southport, England ALMA MATER: West Virginia, 2008

PLAYING EXPERIENCE

2004-07 West Virginia (NCAA) 2008-12 Scunthorpe United (League 1) 2010, 2012 Grimsby Town (National League) 2012-15 Morecambe (League Two) 2015 Southport (National League)

COACHING EXPERIENCE

2016-19 West Virginia (Assistant) 2020-present West Virginia (Associate Head Coach)

PLAYING HONORS

2005 All-Big East Second Team 2006 All-Northeast Region Third Team, NSCAA 2006 All-Big East First Team 2007 Second Team All-America, Soccer America, College Soccer News 2007 Third Team All-America, NSCAA 2007 All-Northeast Region First Team,

NSCAA 2007 Big East Midfielder of the Year 2007 All-Big East First Team

POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE

WEST VIRGINIA – PLAYER 2005 NCAA Tournament Second Round

2006 NCAA Tournament Second Round

2006 Big East Regular-Season Champions 2007 NCAA Tournament Third Round

WEST VIRGINIA – COACH 2018 MAC Regular-Season Champions

2018 NCAA Tournament Second Round

2019

2019 2021 MAC Tournament Champions NCAA Tournament Second Round

NCAA Quarterfinal

His 60 career shots on goal are currently No. 5 in program history and his 151 shots also remain in the squad’s all-time top 10.

Wright led the team in shots in 2006, with 50, and tied for the team lead as a senior in 2007 with six goals, helping lead the Mountaineers to the NCAA Third Round.

Upon the conclusion of his WVU playing career, Wright returned to England to play professionally from 2008-15. He began his professional career with Scunthorpe United from 2008-12, where he helped the team win promotion from League 1 to the English Championship. He was loaned to Grimsby Town in 2010 and 2012. From 2012-15, he played for Morecambe before he concluded his playing career with Southport.