Ticket Punched

I'm not sure that any moment prior to kickoff could be described as "calm," but there were moments before the storm came. Not literally, thankfully, as the once-forecast rains held off. The closest the match saw to showers was when the sprinklers turned toward the additional seating to surprise the students filling the bleachers.

"Calm," it was not, though. As players warmed up, the crowds filled in and joined alternate Mountaineer mascot Braden Adkins in cheers, proclaimed their support for international Mountaineers and determined that Yutaro Tsukada — indeed — is greater than Santa.

Similarly to when No. 1 Marshall came to Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium and sucked the air out of the stadium with an early goal, LMU struck first, early, and brought a sense of the missing calm to the crowd.

Also similarly to that match, WVU answered fast. And twice.

Luke McCormick stole whatever sense of "calm" settled across the crowd when he answered LMU's early lead after just seven minutes with a ninth minute equalizer:

The moments between the goals featured plenty of physical battles as the Lions attempted to get back into level territory. The suspense of that buildup has already been spoiled, but the nature of the matchup provided a multitude of opportunities for the camera to do its thing. 

The Japanese international continued his dominant late-season run by scoring his seventh goal in seven games and putting a small cushion between the Mountaineers and the Lions. His celebration felt like he knew it was all that was needed as he sprinted toward the students in attendance, delivered his best Thierry Henry-like knee slide and then hopped up to embrace his fellow students before pointing into the crowd.

The 3-1 score would hold, the crowd would lead another a cappella rendition of "Country Roads" and the players would celebrate with their newly punched "ticket" to the College Cup. Four teams remain, and the Mountaineers are one of them.

This celebration felt different. Some players approached the trophy with levels of superstition I've only seen or heard in hockey rinks. Some players referred to the Semifinalist trophy as a "participation trophy." Others grabbed the new hardware and raised it high. Regardless of the approach, everyone celebrated — including McCormick, who was all smiles despite leaving the game with an injury and requiring crutches to move about the pitch following the game.