Twum, Thomazo Lead Delaware To Impressive 1-0 Shutout of No. 23 West Virginia in Home Opener

Monday, September 2

Newark, DE

7:00 PM

University of Delaware

1-1

West Virginia

1-1

West Virginia

Delaware

Photo by: Mark Campbell

Twum, Thomazo Lead Delaware To Impressive 1-0 Shutout of No. 23 West Virginia in Home Opener

9/2/2019 10:12:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

NEWARK, Del. – Rex Twum scored the game's only goal in the 20th minute and Renan Thomazo made some key saves in the second half including one on a penalty kick as the University of Delaware men's soccer team posted a tremendous 1-0 shutout win over No. 23 West Virginia Monday night at Stuart & Suzanne Grant Stadium.

The Blue Hens (1-1) carried play for a majority of the first half, taking six of the nine shots in the period, before denting the scoreboard 19:24 into the contest. Ryan Mertz collected a loose ball in the box before sending a short pass to Twum, who fired a shot from 10 yards out into the top left corner of the goal.

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The Mountaineers (1-1) did not have a shot on target through the first 68 minutes, but were awarded a penalty kick in the 69th minute when a Blue Hen committed a foul in the box. WVU's Pascal Derwaritsch fired a rocket toward the left side of the cage, but Thomazo stretched out to make a diving save and keep Delaware in front.

Thomazo stopped four more shots the rest of the way, including getting a piece of an attempt by Tony Pineda in the 80th minute, to preserve the shutout.

Game Notes:
• Delaware posted its eighth win over a ranked opponent in school history, and the first since a 2-1 triumph at No. 20 Maryland on Oct. 20, 2015
• The Blue Hens are now 5-4-1 against ranked foes in Newark
• Delaware improved to 8-1-1 in home openers since 2010
• The Blue Hens defeated West Virginia for the first time in three all-time meetings
• Both teams finished with eight shots, four corner kicks and five saves

Head Coach Ian Hennessy
"This is one of my proudest moments in the 14 years I've been here, against a very good, nationally-ranked West Virginia team. I'm thrilled for the players. Rex was terrific, and he had a wonderful supporting cast. It's not about how much talent you have, but how much hunger you have. Tonight we had a game plan and we stuck to it. Renan came up with a massive save on the penalty kick, and we had a disciplined backline."

Rex Twum
"It was a very big win for us because we responded after losing on Friday. We were focused on winning, and I'm very happy that I scored and we found a way to win. I thought (Ryan) Mertz was going to score but he couldn't, but then I realized the ball was coming to me, so I just hit it in the cage."

Renan Thomazo
"I just guessed and gave 100 percent and was able to make the save (on the penalty kick). Today our backline was very strong, we changed our tactics from Friday and it worked."