Mountaineers Fall in College Cup National Semifinal, Historic Season Comes to End

The 2023 WVU men’s soccer season will go down as one fans will remember forever. But unfortunately for the Mountaineers, their historic run came to an end in the College Cup semifinal on Friday night.

West Virginia fell to Clemson 1-0 in close semifinal match of the College Cup on the pitch in Louisville. Clemson’s Shawn Smart scored at the 37th minute and that goal ended up being good enough for the win for the Tigers.

Final.

A historic season for the Mountaineers comes to an end at the College Cup.#HailWV pic.twitter.com/qednGdYoxK

— WVU Men's Soccer (@WVUMensSoccer) December 9, 2023

WVU fought hard, but would miss their best chance of the night. In the 58th minute, Marcus Caldeira filed to get the ball in the back of the net during a one-on-one a break away opportunity with the keeper.

West Virginia finishes the season at 17-3-4 after making the program’s first ever appearance in the College Cup, soccer’s vision of the Final Four. On the other hand, Clemson, who achieved the school’s 10th College Cup this year, advances to the National Championship Game on Monday night.

The shutout loss was only the second time all season WVU was blanked in a match.

Despite ending their remarkable journey in defeat, Dan Stratford and his Mountaineers accomplished something to be proud of and can say they are among the greatest teams in WVU sports history.