The No.25-ranked University of West Virginia men’s soccer team returns to Dick Dlesk Football Stadium to face Elon on Saturday, October 23. Kick-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.

Saturday is Little Kickers Day, with free entry for any young football player who wears his team’s jersey during the match. After the match, a free youth clinic, featuring members of the WVU men’s soccer team, will take place at the stadium.

Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance by visiting WVUGAME.com to avoid queues at the gate on match day. When purchased online, tickets cost $ 5 each and $ 3 for groups of 10 or more. All tickets are general admission.

At the stadium box office, tickets are $ 7 for adults, $ 5 for youth and seniors and $ 3 for groups. Discounted online prices will be available until kick off.

WVU students are admitted free with a valid WVU student card.

Fans who cannot attend the match can follow the statistics live on WVUsports.com. The match can also be seen live on ESPN +, with Andrew Caridi and Liam Belan on the call, as heard on 91.7 FM in Morgantown.

“We were really looking forward to this,” said WVU coach Dan Stratford upon returning home from a four game road trip. “We now have a bit of a stretch with back-to-back home games that we can enjoy. We’ve had some great results at home with great crowds, and we’re really going to need that energy to help lift this team and help us cross the line.

Saturday marks the fifth meeting between the Mountaineers (7-2-4, 1-1-1 MAC) and Phoenix (6-5-2, 3-1-2 Colonial). Elon leads the all-time series, 2-0-2, including 1-0-1 at Morgantown. This match is also the first between the two teams since 2014.

Overall, WVU is 11-16-3 against the current members of the Colonial Athletic Association.

Last time, West Virginia fell to No. 4 Kentucky, 1-0, in double overtime on Oct. 19 in Lexington, Ky. The Wildcats scored the golden goal in the 105th minute to claim the top-25 victory.

Junior midfielder Luke McCormick and red-shirted second-year defender Bjarne Thiesen co-led the Mountaineers with a pair of shots against the United Kingdom, while fifth-year goalkeeper Steven Tekesky made three saves.

Saturday’s game concludes the non-conference game for the Mountaineers this season. The club went 6-1-3 away from the Mid-American Conference action this fall. Additionally, the team are 15-3-2 in non-conference home clashes since 2018.

WVU is set to play its first home game at Dick Dlesk football stadium since September 30. Overall, the Mountaineers are 110-42-21 at the facility since it opened in 2004.

The Mountaineers placed 25th in the NCAA Division I United Soccer Coaches National Poll on Oct. 19, good for the program’s seventh consecutive top-25 ranking. WVU also appeared at # 9 by TopDrawerSoccer and # 13 by College Soccer News this week.

Senior forward Yoran Popovic leads the Mountaineers with four goals this year. In net, Tekesky starts the weekend in 9th place nationally in goals against average (0.641) and 12th in shutouts (6).

Stratford is 74-9-10 as a head coach, including 13-5-5 with the Mountaineers. In addition, he is 8-1-3 in non-conference games at WVU.

Elon is led by fifth-year coach Marc Reeves, who is 28-32-11 with the program. Most recently, Elon played a 2-2 draw at Northeastern on October 16, in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Jack Edwards leads Elon with five goals and 11 total points this year. He is one of three players with multiple goals for the team this season. The club’s main distributor is Kasper Lehm, who has collected five of Elon’s 17 assists.

The Phoenix are 0-1 against ranked opponents this season, dropping to number. 3 Duke, 3-1, Oct.5, in Durham, NC.

For more information on mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.