Xavier men’s soccer season came to a heartbreaking end when West Virginia scored a goal near the end of the first overtime period on Thursday, Nov. 17, in the first round of the NCAA tournament. It was the Muskies’ second trip
to the tournament and the second time they lost in the first round. This season marked the best season in the history of the program with a final record of 12- 5-4 overall, in which they had a penalty kick shootout win, their second Atlantic 10 championship in a row, and a trip to the NCAA tournament. The end to this year’s season was eerily reminiscent of last year’s, in which the Muskies lost to the Mountaineers in the first round of the tournament 4-2. The Musketeers gave up a goal to the Mountaineers in the 39th
minute but were able to hold West Virginia to one goal for the rest of regular time. Xavier didn’t back down and finally they were able to score an equalizer in the 85th minute from sophomore Gino Depaoli off the assist from sophomore Nick Hagglund. It was Depaoli’s sixth goal of
the season, and forced the sixth overtime for the Musketeers in seven matches. The Musketeers were unable to score in overtime, but junior Luke Spencer had the only shot for the team that forced West Virginia goalkeeper Pat Eavenson to make a diving save. The Mountaineers scored the game-winning goal in the 99th minute off a header from Eric Schoenle. This year, Xavier’s best in its 38-year history, marked the first back-to-back winning seasons for the program. Xavier held opposing teams to a new record of just 19 goals allowed and had its lowest goals against average at 0.85. The team posted its highest winning percentage at .667 and tied its record for wins in a season with 12. Since Coach Fleming’s arrival
last season, the team has more than doubled its games won, has won the A-10 tournament twice and has seen its only two trips to the NCAA tournament in program history.