West Virginia University Athletics

Former West Virginia University men’s soccer All-America goalkeeper Nick Noble returned to WVU as an assistant coach in 2018, and is entering his sixth season on staff at his alma mater.
 
Noble, a First Team All-American in 2006, set numerous school records as a Mountaineer and joined the WVU staff following an 11-year professional career. As a four-year starter in goal at WVU from 2003-06, Noble set 17 career or single-season program records.
 
In 2022, Noble helped the Mountaineers usher in a new era as they moved to the Sun Belt Conference after 10 years in the MAC, going 7-7-4 overall record and 3-1-4 in conference play.

Two players, Luke McCormick and Bjarne Thiesen, earned spots on the All-Sun Belt Second Team while Thiesen also earned second-team All-Southeast Region honors from United Soccer Coaches.
 
In the classroom, Aaron Denk Gracia and Dyon Dromers earned Academic All-America honors. Additionally, Ryan Baer and Adam Burchell earned spots on the Academic All-District squad.

West Virginia enjoyed one of its most successful seasons in program history in 2021. The squad finished 12-3-6 on the year and appeared in the NCAA Quarterfinal for the first time since 1981.
 
The team also set a variety of program-best marks, including the highest ranking in team history (No. 3 by United Soccer Coaches) and highest final ranking (No. 8 by United Soccer Coaches). Additionally, a program-record 14 different players found the back of the net during the year.
 
WVU earned the No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament, its highest national seed since 2007, largely due to its 8-0-3 record at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, which was its first unbeaten, home campaign in 14 seasons.
 
Noble led goalkeeper Steven Tekesky into the WVU record books during the duo’s final season together in Morgantown. Tekesky tied Noble for WVU’s No. 1 mark in career wins (45), and he earned the No. 1 spot in career starts by a goalkeeper (81). Tekesky had eight shutouts in 2021, and allowed just 14 goals in 21 matches.
 
Elsewhere, defender Bjarne Thiesen was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-America Third Team, while defender Kevin Morris and midfielder Ryan Baer were all-region selections. Thiesen also was featured on TopDrawerSoccer’s Best XI Third Team, joining defender Frederik Jorgensen, who was named to the Freshman Best XI Second Team by TDS.
 
The success also translated into the classroom. For the second consecutive season, Morris was placed on the Academic All-America First Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Defender Aaron Denk Gracia was selected to the third team. Additionally, nine members of the year earned Academic All-MAC honors.
 
In one of the most adverse seasons in program history, the Mountaineers finished 6-3-1 in a 10-game, spring-only campaign in 2020-21. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WVU’s fall slate was canceled, resulting in competition from February-April 2021. One of the biggest highlights of the year came on March 24, when WVU topped eventual National Champion Marshall, 1-0, at home. WVU allowed just six total goals on the year and totaled six shutouts.
 
Under Noble’s tutelage, Tekesky made 10 starts, tallied 31 saves, good for a .838 save percentage, and finished with a career-best 0.58 goals-against average. He was named an All-MAC First Team selection as he continued to move up the charts in the Mountaineer record books.
 
Along with Tekesky, four other Mountaineers earned a spot on the All-MAC Team following the season, as midfielders Ike Swiger and Luke McCormick also earned first-team honors, while midfielder Pau Jimenez Albelda and Morris were awarded second-team distinction. In the classroom, nine players were featured on the Academic All-MAC Team, including Morris, who went on to become a CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team selection, the program’s first 2016.
 
In 2019, West Virginia finished with a 10-9-2 mark, which included the program’s first Mid-American Conference Tournament title and second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Mountaineers reached the NCAA Second Round for the second year in a row and eighth time in program history.
 
Ranked as high as No. 19 nationally at one point in the season, WVU was represented on the All-MAC Team by defender Sebastian Garcia-Herreros. Tekesky was named the MVP Tournament MVP, the first Mountaineer to ever garner the award. He was joined by three others – Josh DiMatteo, Ryan Kellogg and Luke McCormick – on the All-Tournament Team. Tekesky finished with 1,936 minutes played, good for No. 14 in the country, and had six shutouts.
 
Additionally, nine Mountaineers made the Academic All-MAC Team, as the squad earned the Team Academic Award by the United Soccer Coaches.

Noble helped guide the Mountaineers to a MAC regular-season title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2018, his first season back in Morgantown. With a 14-7-0 record and a 5-0-0 mark in conference play, West Virginia was one win shy of the tying the program record and one of just two teams in the country to record a 1.000 winning percentage in conference play.
 
WVU finished the season in the top 25 in each of the major poll’s final rankings, coming in as high as No. 17. The record-setting 2018 campaign for West Virginia included 51 assists and 129 shots on goal, both program bests. WVU’s 21 matches played and 135 total points were tied for third-most in school history.
 
With Noble’s guidance, Tekesky was named to the All-MAC First Team. He finished No. 11 in the country in total saves (86) and No. 16 in minutes played (1,891:37), while he led the conference in save percentage (.761) and saves per game (4.10). Tekesky’s 14 wins were tied for No. 2 in a single season in program history, his 21 starts and matches played were both tied for No. 3 and his 1,891:37 minutes ranked No. 5 all-time.
 
A Damascus, Maryland, native, Noble’s professional career began in Major League Soccer as a first-round pick in the supplemental draft by the Chicago Fire in 2007. He spent the 2009 season with the Austin Aztex of the United Soccer League before playing in 59 matches from 2010-11 for Swedish Superettan team Ljungskile SK.
 
In 2012, Noble signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy of the MLS before joining the Harrisburg City Islanders of the USL. He played in 122 career matches with the Islanders from 2012-17, and was a 2012 USL Goalkeeper of the Year award nominee and 2013 All-League Second Team.
 
In an illustrious Mountaineer career, Noble was named a First Team National Soccer Coaches Association All-American and a Second Team All-American by College Soccer News as a senior in 2006, and added Big East Goalkeeper of the Year accolades. In his career, he also was a two-time All-Big East honoree and earned six weekly Big East accolades.
 
Currently, Noble is tied for the Mountaineer record for career wins, with 45, while his 15 victories in 2006 also are No. 1. Noble’s 12 wins in 2004 tied a program record at the time, while his 13 victories in 2005 gave him sole possession of the record before he broke it again the following season.
 
Noble set a then-WVU record with a 0.79 goals-against average as a sophomore in 2004, a mark he eclipsed as a senior with a 0.63 in 2006. His 1.02 goals-against average in 2005 was fourth-best at the time and still ranks in the top 10 in the WVU record books. Noble’s career goals-against average of 0.88 set a program record and remains at No. 2 ever.
 
His 302 career saves rank No. 3 all-time. The total was highlighted by 91 saves in 2005, which ranks No. 10 in a single season in team history. Noble’s .812 career save percentage also is fifth-best in WVU history.
 
Noble concluded his career ranked No. 1 all-time with 34 shutouts, highlighted by a then-school-record 12 in 2005 and another 11 in 2006.
 
Noble still ranks No. 1 in team history in matches played, starts and minutes played in 2005, with 23 starts and 2,120 minutes, while he concluded his career ranked No. 1 with 79 matches played, 77 starts and 7,135 minutes in his career.