Women's Soccer: WVU Falls to Rutgers
November 03, 2006 09:37 PM | General
November 3, 2006
BOX SCORE
STORRS, Conn. – The No. 8 West Virginia University women’s soccer team fell to No. 20 Rutgers 3-2, in the BIG EAST semifinals on Friday night Joseph J. Marrone Stadium in Storrs, Conn.
With the scored tied 2-2 in the 87th minute, the Scarlet Knights’ Courtney Roarty finished a ball from Caycie Gusman to get the game-winning goal and put Rutgers through to the BIG EAST final.
The Scarlet Knights will face No. 1 Notre Dame on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Irish downed Marquette 2-0 earlier in the afternoon.
West Virginia dominated the first half of play but the Scarlet Knights rallied in the second half. The comeback started when Rutgers’ Alicia Hall tied the game at 2-2 with a rocket shot into the top right corner of the net from 35-yards out in the 65th minute.
The Mountaineers jumped on Rutgers early on in the game’s opening 20 minutes. Sophomore forward Deana Everrett gave the Mountaineers a 1-0 lead in the game’s 18th minute. Kim Bonilla dribbled at two Rutgers’ defenders and dished the ball off to the left side leaving Everrett all alone with goalkeeper Erin Guthrie. Everrett went hard to her left then slotted the ball just inside the right post for her 18th goal of the year.
Bonilla helped get the Mountaineers on the board again just 10 minutes later when she was fouled 30 yards out from the Scarlet Knights’ net. Bonilla’s ensuing free kick found the head of Natalie Cocchi who knocked it back across the goal into the left side of the net for a 2-0 lead.
But Rutgers answered just before the half when Jaime Komar connected with Courtney Roarty for a sliding shot in the middle of the box off a free kick. Roarty’s goal was her first of the season and couldn’t have come at better time for the Scarlet Knights as they cut the lead to 2-1 going into the halftime break.
Roarty’s goal was the Scarlet Knights’ only shot of the half.
WVU dropped to 14-3-3, while Rutgers moved to 15-2-3 with the upset win. The NCAA tournament selection show will be on Monday, Nov. 6, at 3 p.m. on ESPNNEWS.
