Abam Delivers Sweet 16 Ticket for No. 1 Mountaineers
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (November 18, 2016) – Extra time resulted an extra-special score for the No. 1-ranked and top-seeded West Virginia University women’s soccer team tonight, as junior forward Michaela Abam’s golden goal in the 104th minute pushed the Mountaineers to a 1-0 double-overtime victory over Ohio State and into the third round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
Playing in front of 2,471 fans, the second-largest crowd in stadium history, the Mountaineers held off a defensive-minded Buckeye side and fought through frustration and missed opportunities before Abam cashed in on her team-best 11th goal of the season just 3:12 into the second overtime.
“This team has done some incredible things all year long, and tonight was no different – they just found the results,” Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “A team who is moving on to the Sweet 16 and won two conference championships did all year long what everyone witnessed tonight, and that is finding a way to win.”
The Mountaineers (21-1-1, 8-0) now move on to the NCAA “Sweet 16” for the second straight season and the fifth time in program history. WVU will face No. 14-ranked and fourth-seeded UCLA on Sunday, Nov. 20, at 2:30 p.m., at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. The Bruins earned a 2-0 win over Nebraska in the day’s first match. Tickets for Sunday’s game are on sale now at WVUGAME.com.
“Recovery is going to be something we’re going to have to think about,” Izzo-Brown explained. “We have roughly 20 more minutes of action in our legs than UCLA does. This team did it at the Big 12 Championship, and they know how to push through. At this point, we’re in the Sweet 16, and we need to move on to the Elite Eight. No excuses.”
WVU moves to 17-15-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches and 5-6 in second-round contests. The victory is the team’s 14th straight, matching the program’s longest win streak, first set in 2010.
Abam’s goal was nothing short of spectacular. Pinned along the sideline after receiving a ball from junior midfielder Carla Portillo, the Houston native shook OSU defender Nicole Miyashiro with a spin move then let her shot sail from wide of the 18-yard box. Buckeye goalkeeper Devon Kerr met the ball at the upper right corner, but she did nothing more than tip it into the net.
“We had so many opportunities tonight,” Izzo-Brown added. “I thought it was going to take something special, for someone to do something just a little more special.”
Her third game-winner of the season, the score puts Abam’s team-best point total at 29 (11 G, 7 A). With 31 career scores, she moves to No. 8 on the Mountaineers’ all-time list.
“We’ve been working on that shot all year,” Abam said. “It was something we were working on, and it finally came through.”
The goal almost never happened, as senior midfielder Ashley Lawrence nearly snagged the golden moment just seconds before Abam’s goal, but her shot from just outside the box slammed off the cross bar and back into play. Portillo chased down the rebound and sent it out to Abam for the eventual game-winner.
Junior Michelle Newhouse made one save, while the team registered another, for WVU’s program-record 16th shutout of the season. The Mountaineers have posted 14 clean sheets in tournament play, including five in their last seven matches.
Kerr finished with three saves. WVU’s four shots on-goal matched a team season-low.
The Mountaineers also finished with an 8-2 edge in corner kicks, including one in each overtime period.
WVU earned the better looks in overtime tonight, though the Buckeyes did get the first chance. Senior forward Lindsay Agnew charged the net in the 92nd minute. Newhouse’s challenge was successful, as she halted Agnew’s run wide of the penalty-kick line and pushed the ball away.
Seven minutes later, Portillo looked to send in the game-winning assist, but Kerr tipped the cross at the line. Junior forward Heather Kaleiohi had her own chance just seconds later, but her shot from 14-yards out was tipped over the bar by Kerr.
OSU senior forward Nichelle Prince had a look in the 84th minute. After sneaking behind the WVU backline, she rushed toward the net. Lawrence caught up to her and forced an early shot, which was kicked away by junior defender Amandine Pierre-Louis for the team’s second save of the night.
The Mountaineer defense held Agnew and Prince to four combined shots.
Minutes before Prince’s chance, WVU senior midfielder Ashley Woolpert looked to break the scoreless play, as the ball got worked into the box, but her point-blank shot was stopped by a dive from Kerr.
WVU’s chances were limited through the first 45 minutes, as the team was denied a first-half shot on-goal for the first time this season.
Newhouse made a quality save in the 28th minute, diving to the right post to stop a running shot from Prince.
Abam finished with five shots, while Lawrence and Pierre-Louis each tallied four. Four Mountaineers finished with one shot on-goal each.
The win is the Mountaineers’ second of the season against the Buckeyes (11-7-3, 4-4-3 Big Ten), and WVU now shows a 6-4-1 all-time series advantage.
Parking will be extremely limited at the WVU Coliseum on Sunday, as the men’s basketball team tips against New Hampshire at 1 p.m. All men’s basketball season parking passes will be honored, and single-game parking for the basketball game will be available for $10 at the Rose Lot, near the WVU Natatorium. Fans wishing to attend the soccer game who arrive at 1:30 p.m. or later may park free of charge in spaces available as directed by WVU parking attendants. Any fan who arrives prior to 1:30 p.m. will be charged $10 and must park in the Rose Lot. Additionally, all RV parking from the football game on Saturday vs. Oklahoma must be cleared from the Coliseum RV parking areas by 9 a.m. Sunday.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUWomensSoccer on Twitter.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (November 18, 2016) – Extra time resulted an extra-special score for the No. 1-ranked and top-seeded West Virginia University women’s soccer team tonight, as junior forward Michaela Abam’s golden goal in the 104th minute pushed the Mountaineers to a 1-0 double-overtime victory over Ohio State and into the third round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
Playing in front of 2,471 fans, the second-largest crowd in stadium history, the Mountaineers held off a defensive-minded Buckeye side and fought through frustration and missed opportunities before Abam cashed in on her team-best 11th goal of the season just 3:12 into the second overtime.
“This team has done some incredible things all year long, and tonight was no different – they just found the results,” Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “A team who is moving on to the Sweet 16 and won two conference championships did all year long what everyone witnessed tonight, and that is finding a way to win.”
The Mountaineers (21-1-1, 8-0) now move on to the NCAA “Sweet 16” for the second straight season and the fifth time in program history. WVU will face No. 14-ranked and fourth-seeded UCLA on Sunday, Nov. 20, at 2:30 p.m., at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. The Bruins earned a 2-0 win over Nebraska in the day’s first match. Tickets for Sunday’s game are on sale now at WVUGAME.com.
“Recovery is going to be something we’re going to have to think about,” Izzo-Brown explained. “We have roughly 20 more minutes of action in our legs than UCLA does. This team did it at the Big 12 Championship, and they know how to push through. At this point, we’re in the Sweet 16, and we need to move on to the Elite Eight. No excuses.”
WVU moves to 17-15-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches and 5-6 in second-round contests. The victory is the team’s 14th straight, matching the program’s longest win streak, first set in 2010.
Abam’s goal was nothing short of spectacular. Pinned along the sideline after receiving a ball from junior midfielder Carla Portillo, the Houston native shook OSU defender Nicole Miyashiro with a spin move then let her shot sail from wide of the 18-yard box. Buckeye goalkeeper Devon Kerr met the ball at the upper right corner, but she did nothing more than tip it into the net.
“We had so many opportunities tonight,” Izzo-Brown added. “I thought it was going to take something special, for someone to do something just a little more special.”
Her third game-winner of the season, the score puts Abam’s team-best point total at 29 (11 G, 7 A). With 31 career scores, she moves to No. 8 on the Mountaineers’ all-time list.
“We’ve been working on that shot all year,” Abam said. “It was something we were working on, and it finally came through.”
The goal almost never happened, as senior midfielder Ashley Lawrence nearly snagged the golden moment just seconds before Abam’s goal, but her shot from just outside the box slammed off the cross bar and back into play. Portillo chased down the rebound and sent it out to Abam for the eventual game-winner.
Junior Michelle Newhouse made one save, while the team registered another, for WVU’s program-record 16th shutout of the season. The Mountaineers have posted 14 clean sheets in tournament play, including five in their last seven matches.
Kerr finished with three saves. WVU’s four shots on-goal matched a team season-low.
The Mountaineers also finished with an 8-2 edge in corner kicks, including one in each overtime period.
WVU earned the better looks in overtime tonight, though the Buckeyes did get the first chance. Senior forward Lindsay Agnew charged the net in the 92nd minute. Newhouse’s challenge was successful, as she halted Agnew’s run wide of the penalty-kick line and pushed the ball away.
Seven minutes later, Portillo looked to send in the game-winning assist, but Kerr tipped the cross at the line. Junior forward Heather Kaleiohi had her own chance just seconds later, but her shot from 14-yards out was tipped over the bar by Kerr.
OSU senior forward Nichelle Prince had a look in the 84th minute. After sneaking behind the WVU backline, she rushed toward the net. Lawrence caught up to her and forced an early shot, which was kicked away by junior defender Amandine Pierre-Louis for the team’s second save of the night.
The Mountaineer defense held Agnew and Prince to four combined shots.
Minutes before Prince’s chance, WVU senior midfielder Ashley Woolpert looked to break the scoreless play, as the ball got worked into the box, but her point-blank shot was stopped by a dive from Kerr.
WVU’s chances were limited through the first 45 minutes, as the team was denied a first-half shot on-goal for the first time this season.
Newhouse made a quality save in the 28th minute, diving to the right post to stop a running shot from Prince.
Abam finished with five shots, while Lawrence and Pierre-Louis each tallied four. Four Mountaineers finished with one shot on-goal each.
The win is the Mountaineers’ second of the season against the Buckeyes (11-7-3, 4-4-3 Big Ten), and WVU now shows a 6-4-1 all-time series advantage.
Parking will be extremely limited at the WVU Coliseum on Sunday, as the men’s basketball team tips against New Hampshire at 1 p.m. All men’s basketball season parking passes will be honored, and single-game parking for the basketball game will be available for $10 at the Rose Lot, near the WVU Natatorium. Fans wishing to attend the soccer game who arrive at 1:30 p.m. or later may park free of charge in spaces available as directed by WVU parking attendants. Any fan who arrives prior to 1:30 p.m. will be charged $10 and must park in the Rose Lot. Additionally, all RV parking from the football game on Saturday vs. Oklahoma must be cleared from the Coliseum RV parking areas by 9 a.m. Sunday.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUWomensSoccer on Twitter.
