MONTGOMERY, W. Va. – Playing just hours after a conference loss to St. Catharine Saturday night, the University of Pikeville men's soccer team struggled on Sunday, dropping a 9-0 decision at West Virginia Tech. Sven Biansumba finished with a hat-trick for the Golden Bears, scoring in the 36th, 69th and 85th minutes.
While Biansumba had the best night overall, it was Joaquin Rodriguez that ultimately sent in the game winner, tallying the game's first goal in the ninth minute off a cross from the left side from Morten Larsen. Two minutes later Alex Pastor added the second goal with West Virginia Tech (3-1) on its way to a 5-0 lead at halftime.
Sam Laughton made it 6-0 just five minutes into the second half as Golden Bear keepers Pol Bernaldo, who played the entire first half, Renato Gomes and Vicente Porcar tallied a combined shutout with just two saves between them as UPIKE (1-2) only got off two shots in 90 minutes that were both on frame.
Diego Rivas collected nine saves to go with the nine goals allowed for the Bears as he stayed in goal for all 90 minutes. Gabriel Gavioli and Dalton White took UPIKE's only shots as the Bears struggled to find opportunities to score with West Virginia Tech leading in corner kicks 13-2.
Fouls also went in favor of Tech 10-7 as it also led in total shots 31-2, including an 18-1 advantage in the first half and 13-1 lead in the final 45 minutes.
Larsen paced the Golden Bears with five shots, while Biansumba led the team in shots on goal with four. Biansumba was the only Golden Bear with multiple goals as six other players tallied a goal in the game.
UPIKE is off until 4 p.m. ET on Saturday when it travels to Mid-South Conference foe Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Ky.
