No. 2/3 Mountaineers Make Quick Work of Kansas
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (October 16, 2015) – The No. 2/3 West Virginia University women’s soccer team opened its final regular-season homestand in record-setting fashion, scoring four second-half goals and defeating Kansas, 6-0, tonight in front of 1,221 fans at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
Goals from four of the Mountaineers’ (13-1-1, 4-0-1) six seniors helped the team net its first six-goal performance as a member of the Big 12 Conference. Prior to this evening, WVU had never tallied more than four scores against a Big 12 foe.
“This is our last homestand of the season, and Mountaineer Nation definitely came out in support,” said WVU coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “It was so important for us to put those numbers on the board. These points at home were critical.
“This team wants to separate itself and be special. It was so important that our seniors earned points in critical moments. They all worked so hard, as they’ve done for four years.”
Tonight’s win pushes the Mountaineers’ unbeaten streak to 13. WVU also is unbeaten in its last 29 conference matches at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
Midfielder Amanda Hill paced the field with a career-high five points, tallying her first career two-goal game as well as assisting on classmate Kailey Utley’s game winner in the fourth minute.
“This was absolutely awesome – you can’t really paint a better start to our senior weekend,” said Hill. “We took care of business tonight. Everyone did her job, and that made the whole unit work. We brought our game tonight.”
Five Mountaineers finished with two points each, including sophomore forward Amandine Pierre-Louis, as the Montreal, Quebec, native tallied her first career two-assist game.
WVU earned its nation-best 12th shutout of the season, holding the Jayhawks to one shot on-goal, a frantic attempt by Kayla Morrison inside the box that was saved at the right post by senior forward Kelsie Maloney. Tonight’s shutout is the Mountaineers’ fifth against KU; the Jayhawks have never scored against WVU in the team’s five meetings.
Senior Hannah Steadman played all 90 minutes between the posts and earned her ninth clean sheet of the season.
The Mountaineers finished with a 23-10 edge in shots and forced KU goalkeepers Maddie Dobyns and Lauren Breshears into six saves. Four of Dobyns’ saves came in the first half. WVU also earned a 5-1 edge in corner kicks.
“Everyone on this team wants that shutout, and it’s so important,” explained Izzo-Brown. “You can just see how hard everyone is working for that shutout.”
Utley gave the Mountaineers an early and decisive lead, scoring just 3:20 into the match on the first shot for either team. Hill worked the ball into the heart of the Mountaineers’ attack before finding her classmate out on the wing. The St. Louis, Missouri, native took a hard shot that breezed through KU defenders before landing in the far right corner of the net.
The score was Utley’s seventh of the season and Big 12 Conference-best fourth game winner of the year.
The Mountaineers pushed their advantage to two goals 14 minutes later on a highlight-worthy score from junior midfielder Ashley Lawrence. After working the ball outside the box, sophomore midfielder Carla Portillo lofted a pass in, and Lawrence ran up on it, beating two KU defenders for possession, before placing her shot toward the right post and out of Dobyns’ reach.
Hill opened WVU’s lethal second-half attack and scored the first of her back-to-back goals in the 60th minute, converting on the team’s third corner kick of the match. Freshman defender Bianca St. Georges crossed the ball into the box, and Pierre-Louis was able to get her foot on it, directing it to Hill, who finished her shot through traffic toward the right post.
Nearly 10 minutes later, Hill gave the Mountaineers a four-goal lead in similar fashion, shooting through traffic inside of the goal mouth off a corner kick. Pierre-Louis and senior midfielder Leah Emaus earned the assists on her second goal.
The Jayhawks threatened to steal the shutout in the 75th minute. Ashley Pankey corralled the rebound off Morrison’s shot on-goal, but her chance in front of the net smacked off the right post and back into play. WVU gained possession off the shot, and just seconds after recording the team’s lone save of the night, Maloney tallied her first goal of the season, taking the ball up the field and placing her shot from outside the box toward the far right corner.
Senior defender Maggie Bedillion iced the game in the 87th minute with her first score of the season. The Washington, Pennsylvania, native scored in similar fashion to Maloney, as she carried the ball from midfield before taking a blast from the left wing. Breshears made a play on the ball, but instead of earning the save, she hit the ball up and it bounced over her head and in for the score.
Pierre-Louis paced the field with six shots. Three Mountaineers – Utley, Hill and sophomore forward Michaela Abam – placed two shots on-goal.
WVU closes out its home regular-season slate this Sunday, Oct. 18, against Iowa State, with first kick set for 1 p.m. The match will be televised on ROOT Sports Pittsburgh, with Geoff Coyle on the call, former Mountaineer Caroline Szwed adding color and Amanda Mazey on the sideline. It’s also “Senior Day,” and WVU’s six seniors – Bedillion, Emaus, Hill, Maloney, Steadman and Utley – will be honored prior to first kick. Additionally, the first 100 fans will receive a commemorative 2015 WVU women’s soccer wristband.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUWomensSoccer on Twitter.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (October 16, 2015) – The No. 2/3 West Virginia University women’s soccer team opened its final regular-season homestand in record-setting fashion, scoring four second-half goals and defeating Kansas, 6-0, tonight in front of 1,221 fans at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
Goals from four of the Mountaineers’ (13-1-1, 4-0-1) six seniors helped the team net its first six-goal performance as a member of the Big 12 Conference. Prior to this evening, WVU had never tallied more than four scores against a Big 12 foe.
“This is our last homestand of the season, and Mountaineer Nation definitely came out in support,” said WVU coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “It was so important for us to put those numbers on the board. These points at home were critical.
“This team wants to separate itself and be special. It was so important that our seniors earned points in critical moments. They all worked so hard, as they’ve done for four years.”
Tonight’s win pushes the Mountaineers’ unbeaten streak to 13. WVU also is unbeaten in its last 29 conference matches at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
Midfielder Amanda Hill paced the field with a career-high five points, tallying her first career two-goal game as well as assisting on classmate Kailey Utley’s game winner in the fourth minute.
“This was absolutely awesome – you can’t really paint a better start to our senior weekend,” said Hill. “We took care of business tonight. Everyone did her job, and that made the whole unit work. We brought our game tonight.”
Five Mountaineers finished with two points each, including sophomore forward Amandine Pierre-Louis, as the Montreal, Quebec, native tallied her first career two-assist game.
WVU earned its nation-best 12th shutout of the season, holding the Jayhawks to one shot on-goal, a frantic attempt by Kayla Morrison inside the box that was saved at the right post by senior forward Kelsie Maloney. Tonight’s shutout is the Mountaineers’ fifth against KU; the Jayhawks have never scored against WVU in the team’s five meetings.
Senior Hannah Steadman played all 90 minutes between the posts and earned her ninth clean sheet of the season.
The Mountaineers finished with a 23-10 edge in shots and forced KU goalkeepers Maddie Dobyns and Lauren Breshears into six saves. Four of Dobyns’ saves came in the first half. WVU also earned a 5-1 edge in corner kicks.
“Everyone on this team wants that shutout, and it’s so important,” explained Izzo-Brown. “You can just see how hard everyone is working for that shutout.”
Utley gave the Mountaineers an early and decisive lead, scoring just 3:20 into the match on the first shot for either team. Hill worked the ball into the heart of the Mountaineers’ attack before finding her classmate out on the wing. The St. Louis, Missouri, native took a hard shot that breezed through KU defenders before landing in the far right corner of the net.
The score was Utley’s seventh of the season and Big 12 Conference-best fourth game winner of the year.
The Mountaineers pushed their advantage to two goals 14 minutes later on a highlight-worthy score from junior midfielder Ashley Lawrence. After working the ball outside the box, sophomore midfielder Carla Portillo lofted a pass in, and Lawrence ran up on it, beating two KU defenders for possession, before placing her shot toward the right post and out of Dobyns’ reach.
Hill opened WVU’s lethal second-half attack and scored the first of her back-to-back goals in the 60th minute, converting on the team’s third corner kick of the match. Freshman defender Bianca St. Georges crossed the ball into the box, and Pierre-Louis was able to get her foot on it, directing it to Hill, who finished her shot through traffic toward the right post.
Nearly 10 minutes later, Hill gave the Mountaineers a four-goal lead in similar fashion, shooting through traffic inside of the goal mouth off a corner kick. Pierre-Louis and senior midfielder Leah Emaus earned the assists on her second goal.
The Jayhawks threatened to steal the shutout in the 75th minute. Ashley Pankey corralled the rebound off Morrison’s shot on-goal, but her chance in front of the net smacked off the right post and back into play. WVU gained possession off the shot, and just seconds after recording the team’s lone save of the night, Maloney tallied her first goal of the season, taking the ball up the field and placing her shot from outside the box toward the far right corner.
Senior defender Maggie Bedillion iced the game in the 87th minute with her first score of the season. The Washington, Pennsylvania, native scored in similar fashion to Maloney, as she carried the ball from midfield before taking a blast from the left wing. Breshears made a play on the ball, but instead of earning the save, she hit the ball up and it bounced over her head and in for the score.
Pierre-Louis paced the field with six shots. Three Mountaineers – Utley, Hill and sophomore forward Michaela Abam – placed two shots on-goal.
WVU closes out its home regular-season slate this Sunday, Oct. 18, against Iowa State, with first kick set for 1 p.m. The match will be televised on ROOT Sports Pittsburgh, with Geoff Coyle on the call, former Mountaineer Caroline Szwed adding color and Amanda Mazey on the sideline. It’s also “Senior Day,” and WVU’s six seniors – Bedillion, Emaus, Hill, Maloney, Steadman and Utley – will be honored prior to first kick. Additionally, the first 100 fans will receive a commemorative 2015 WVU women’s soccer wristband.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUWomensSoccer on Twitter.
