FAIRBORN — The Wright State men’s soccer team, ranked 11th in the Top Drawer Soccer.com poll and 22nd in the United Soccer Coaches poll, dropped its first decision of the season with a 2-1 loss Oct. 2 at No. 6 Virginia.
The Raiders are now 8-1-1 as the Cavaliers stay undefeated at 6-0-2.
In front of more than 1,100 fans, the Raiders went toe-to-toe with the traditional soccer powerhouse which has won seven NCAA titles since 1989. Junior midfielder Deri Corfe scored for the Raiders early as junior goalie Joel Sundell turned away a potent offense that took 20 overall shots. WSU ended with 12 total shots with Corfe posting four and junior Jackson Dietrich taking three.
Corfe scored for the Raiders with an assist from Harvey Slade at 11:51 of the first half to give the Raiders an early lead. It was Corfe’s seventh goal of the season. The Cavaliers scored late in the half at 39:56 as Cabrel Happi Kamseu dented the net with a header off a free kick. UVA led in shots 8-5 in the first 45 while Sundell made two saves.
The final 45 minutes were tight as Virginia notched the game winner from Daryl Dike scoring his first goal unassisted at 57:58. The Cavaliers added 12 more shots, but the Raiders had seven of their own as the two ranked teams battled to the end. With less than five minutes to go, Wright State nearly tied the game, but UVA’s goalie made a one-handed fingertip save on a Wright State shot from outside of the box.
Wright State will host the University of Illinois Chicago at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6. The Raider women’s soccer team will play at 3 p.m. against UIC. Both games will be shown live on ESPN+.
For more information on the WSU Raiders, go to www.wsuraiders.com.
