THE SHOTGUN THROWDOWN: Historic soccer season comes to an end

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HISTORIC SEASON

The #11 West Virginia men’s soccer team’s historic season came to an end on Saturday afternoon, as the Mountaineers suffered a heartbreaking loss at #3 Georgetown in a penalty shootout. WVU led 1-0 at halftime, thanks to a goal from senior forward Yoran Popovic in the 16th minute of the match, but the Hoyas were able to tie things up with a penalty kick goal in the 67th minute. The game remained tied through the remainder of regulation and two overtime periods. GU was able to stop two of WVU’s first three shots in the penalty shootout, and the Hoyas made all of their first four shots to get the win.

This was the first time the Mountaineers had made the Elite Eight in the current NCAA Tournament format and the first time they had reached the quarterfinals since 1981. Dan Stratford clearly has the WVU soccer program heading in a great direction during his first two seasons as the head coach. Many believe that Stratford is currently the head coaching hire that Shane Lyons has made as the WVU Director of Athletics. So, despite the heartbreaking loss, Mountaineer fans should still be excited about the trajectory of the men’s soccer program.

WEST VIRGINIA ROUNDUP

• The West Virginia women’s basketball team returns to Morgantown tonight to host Charlotte. The Mountaineers started the season 4-0, but have lost their last two games to go to 4-2. This game will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ at 7:00 p.m. ET.

• The West Virginia wrestling team lost to Ohio, 30-9, on Sunday. But one bright spot from the match is that sophomore Peyton Hall remains undefeated with a 9-0 record in the 165-pound weight class.
• The West Virginia football team is heading to the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona on December 28th. The Mountaineers will be facing Minnesota for the first time in program history. The game also gives WVU a chance for its second consecutive winning season under head coach Neal Brown.

• West Virginia’s Ceili McCabe earned a first-place finish in the women’s 3,000-meter run at the Boston University Sharon Colyera-Danville Season Opener on Saturday. McCabe’s time of 8:52.52 set a new program record for WVU.

AROUND THE BIG 12

• The #7 Baylor football team held off a second half comeback by #9 Oklahoma State to win the Big 12 Championship, 21-16. The Cowboys were just inches away from punching in a touchdown on fourth and goal with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game.
• An in-state rivalry was renewed on Sunday. The Kansas State men’s basketball team escaped Wichita with a 65-59 win over the Shockers.
• The Big East-Big 12 Battle is now tied after the Oklahoma State men’s basketball team lost to Xavier, 77-71.
• Game five of the Big East-Big 12 Battle tips off at 9:00 p.m. ET tonight on ESPN2 when Oklahoma hosts Butler.

AROUND THE NCAA

• #20 Florida suffered a shocking upset loss at home last night when the then-winless Texas Southern men’s basketball team defeated the Gators 69-54.
• Alabama sports fans had a good day on Saturday. First their football team beat Georgia in the SEC Championship, 41-24, to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff. Then their men’s basketball team defeated the then-#3 Gonzaga, 91-82, in the Battle in Seattle.

ODDS AND ENDS

• The NFL playoff picture is starting to take shape. Which teams are competing for first round byes? And which teams are fighting to stay in the hunt just to get a playoff spot?

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