Oregon State transfer Matt Drake a ‘great fit’

Oftentimes in life, people can grow tired of a particular environment or place. In order to amend such a situation, the person may choose to make a move to have a fresh start.

In sports, countless athletes have made this move to jumpstart a career or get a chance to prove their skills.

For West Virginia junior forward Matt Drake, a transfer was exactly what he needed.

The 6-foot-2, 175-pound transfer from Oregon State joined the team in July.

In the mean time, Drake has fallen in love with what he has seen at WVU.

"I am really enjoying West Virginia," Drake said. "It feels good to have people come here and support you."

Before transferring into the Mountaineers' men's soccer program, Drake's views of WVU were somewhat clouded.

"I didn't know a whole lot about West Virginia soccer beforehand, so I talked to a bunch of people and everybody gave it praise," Drake said. "The guys, the school - I heard nothing bad about it, so I said ‘Why not come out here?'"

Due to NCAA rules, a program cannot contact a player who would like to transfer unless the athlete contacts the school first and the school gets a release from the player's original school.

When Drake contacted WVU head coach Marlon LeBlanc, the coaching staff went to work on evaluating the Happy Valley, Ore., native.

"We got to see him on video about 10 times, and we really liked what we saw," LeBlanc said.

After watching the video, LeBlanc said it was up to him and his coaching staff to try to seal the deal with Drake.

"We got him out here along with his dad, and we really thought he was a great fit

for the program," LeBlanc said.

By adding Drake, LeBlanc felt he added something he could not get from a freshman recruit: experience.

"Matt is an older, more mature figure for us, and he has done very, very well for us," LeBlanc said. "Experience and age is what he

really has added to the group."

The addition of Drake has paid dividends early this season. He has given the

Mountaineers quality minutes off the bench and scored his first career goal for the Old Gold and Blue Sunday afternoon.

Drake's goal was crucial in the 3-2 double-overtime win against then-No. 17 UNC-Wilmington. His goal was the second of WVU's and tied the game.

"He had a fantastic goal. He had a sublime, great first touch and a great finish," LeBlanc said. "How many times have we seen someone on our team put that over or off of the cross bar?"

Even Drake acknowledged scoring his first career goal as a Mountaineer eased the pressure on him.

"It was a pretty big goal," Drake said. "It was a big confidence booster."

What the future holds for Drake and how he will contribute to the men's soccer program is unclear. But, he knows one thing: change is always good.

"I'm just enjoying it all," Drake said. "I just try to balance school and soccer."