BOONE, N.C. — For the second time in as many weeks, freshman Jake Agnew was named the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the week for his career-high eight saves in his shutout against Hartwick, the league announced Tuesday.
"What Jake was able to do last week was incredible for our team and I'm glad the Sun Belt recognized him once more," head coach Jason O'Keefe said. "It's also a testament to the core of goalkeepers we have in Agnew, Jaron Bradley, Jake Chasteen and Mitch Kilmer. They push each other daily as well as the team in front of them, which has been doing well also. Their continued hard work in practice and preparation for games puts us in a position to succeed."
Once again last week, Agnew proved to be an immovable object between the frames, earning his third-straight shutout against the No. 1 overall Sun Belt team Hartwick in a rematch of the 2015 Sun Belt Tournament semifinals. With his career-high eight saves, the freshman stretched his unbeaten record to 3-0-3 – six-straight unbeaten for him and the team, which is the second longest streak in the Sun Belt. The shutout is the first time that Hartwick has been held scoreless by a conference opponent since Oct. 12, 2014 (Ga. Southern). With the clean sheet, Agnew has now gone 310 minutes without allowing a goal and is now second in the league in shutouts.
Despite just having six games under his belt, Agnew continues to top the conference with a 0.41 goals against average and a .893 save percentage. Those totals are good enough to rank him No. 2 in the country in both GAA and save percentage, while also making him the leader in both among freshman goalkeepers nationwide.
Agnew continues to top the conference with a 0.41 goals against average and a .893 save percentage. Those totals also rank him second-best in the country in both GAA and save percentage, while also making him the leader in both among other freshman goalkeepers in the nation.
The Mountaineers and Agnew return home and will look to extend their unbeaten streak to seven matches when they host Sun Belt newcomer Coastal Carolina on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. for the annual "Pack the Mack" game. Fans are asked to come out and wear black to support their men's soccer team. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
