Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University men's soccer team kicks off the 2022 fall campaign with a non-conference match this Thursday at No. 6 West Virginia, beginning at 7 p.m.

Robert Morris (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Horizon League) vs. No. 6 West Virginia (0-0-0, 0-0-0 SBC)

Thursday, August 25 at 7:00 p.m. in Morgantown, WV.
Live Stats | Live Stream: ESPN +

LAST TIME OUT
The Colonials are coming off their second season as members of the Horizon League after a 2021 campaign that saw Robert Morris finish 5-11-1 overall behind a 4-5-1 record in conference play. Head Coach Jason O'Keefe enters his third season with the Colonials after leading them to their first ever Horizon League postseason appearance a season ago.
Robert Morris completed two exhibition matches earlier this month in preparation for the 2022 campaign, traveling to Pitt before hosting Mount St. Mary's.

FAMILIAR FACES
Robert Morris will feature a young but experienced group this fall, as the Colonials will return 18 members from last season. Sophomore forward Bryan Akongo and junior defender Kelvin Ramirez are the returning Colonials that started in all 16 games a season ago.

Akongo paced RMU last season with 15 points, thanks to five goals and five assists, while Ramirez was named to the 2022 #HLMSOC All-Academic Team. The Colonials will also receive a boost on defense, as in addition to the return of Ramirez, sophomore Noé Bijou was named to the 2021 #HLMSOC All-Freshman Team.

NEW ADDITIONS TO THE MO
The Colonials welcome 12 newcomers to the squad for the 2022 fall campaign as Connor Aley, Logan Bellina, Darren Gray, Anass Hadran, Nolan Hutter, Victor Koah, Alex Lorigny, Shane McMillan, and Jonah Valmonte all arrive in Moon Township for their freshman seasons. Including three newcomers who joined last spring in, Chase Gilley and Logan Gilley who transferred from UNC Greensboro and William Dodzi Afawubo who's coming over from St. Thomas Aquinas and the Phoenix Academy club program.

 This RMU roster features student-athletes from nine states and seven countries.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
The Mountaineers enter their first season in the Sun Belt Conference and come into Thursday's match ranked No. 6 in the preseason United Soccer Coaches Rankings. West Virginia finished the 2021 season 12-3-6 overall with a 4-1-1 record in conference action, while reaching the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time since 1981.

The Mountaineers were voted to finish first in the SBC Preseason Coaches poll, while also retuning a handful of veterans. They return eight starters and 14 lettermen from a season ago, including redshirt defender Bjarne Thiesen, who was named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Team last week. Thiesen started in all 21 matches for the Mountaineers in 2021, earning him United Soccer Coaches All-America Third Team, as well as TopDrawerSoccer's Best XI Third Team accolades.

QUOTABLES
"We are looking forward to kick off the season at WVU. The fall season is the best time of the year," head coach Jason O'Keefe said. "We are excited to test ourselves vs a top 10 team in WVU. We want to learn and grow from these early season matches to prepare ourselves for the Horizon League. Their game day environment is also going to be a great experience for our young team to embrace."

NEXT
Robert Morris returns to action on Wednesday, August 31 when it hosts Duquesne for its home opener, beginning at 4 p.m.

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