Morgantown -- Giovanni Marquina scored his first career goal in the 34th minute to draw the Loyola University Maryland men's soccer even with No. 3 West Virginia University on Wednesday night, as the teams played to a 1-1 draw in a non-conference matchup. 

With the tie against the Mountaineers, this is the first points against a ranked opponent since the Greyhounds drew against the Mountaineers on September 6, 2021, when the Mountaineers were ranked No. 5. 

"Couldn't be any prouder of our guys, their fight and willingness to play for one another was phenomenal," said Head Coach Steve Nichols. "It's just disappointing because some of the big time players we are missing right now are our offensive players that could have gotten us the three points tonight. But once again we go on the road against another top 25 opponent, the No. 3 team in the country, and get a result. This group can go toe to toe with anyone in the country."

The Mountaineers (8-0-3 overall, 1-0-2 Sun Belt) started the game fast, tallying three shots within the first five minutes of the game.

The Greyhounds (3-1-7 overall, 3-0-1 Patriot League) weathered the early storm, as Danilo Seglio found space and fired a shot from outside the box, but was saved by the Mountaineers Jackson Lee. 

In the 24th minute, a cross from Yutaro Tsukada took an unlucky bounce off of a Greyhounds defender on a clear attempt, as the ball bounced into the back of the net, as the Mountaineers took a 1-0 lead. 

The Greyhounds did not take long to respond, as they executed a perfect counter attack. Sean McEvoy found Thomas Gray on a long pass, as Gray settled it, he found Tyler Tucker, who then passed the ball across the box, that found Giovanni Marquina, who buried it in the top right corner to draw the Greyhounds even. 

The Mountaineers led in shots in the first half, 5-3, but the Greyhounds held the advantage with shots on goal, leading 2-1. 

In the second half, West Virginia held the momentum for the majority of the half, as they held possession in their attacking half for the majority of the half, as they out shot the Greyhounds 7-1 in the half. 

Despite this, the Greyhounds held the Mountaineers to just two shots on goal, as their defense showed their strength in the second half, as they held West Virginia to without a goal, as they battled to a draw, 1-1. 

Loyola will resume Patriot League play on Saturday, October 7, for a 12 o'clock match agianst the College of the Holy Cross at Ridley Athletic Complex.