Women's Soccer: Women Upset No. 7 Penn State
September 08, 2006 03:54 PM | General
September 8, 2006
BOX SCORE
 |
||
| Deana Everrett |
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The No. 17 West Virginia University women’s soccer team upset No. 7 Penn State, 2-1, on Friday, Sept. 8, at Jeffrey Field in State College, Pa.
The win marked the first by WVU over a ranked opponent since Oct. 7, 2005, when West Virginia upended No. 9 Marquette, 2-0. The upset also avenges last year’s second-round NCAA Tournament loss to the Nittany Lions and broke Penn State’s 16-game home unbeaten streak.
“Anytime you beat a team like Penn State, it’s a huge win,” Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “We have so much respect for them and to beat a big-time program on the road is great for our team. I’m proud of the way we came in and battled all game.”
West Virginia (5-0) junior Natalie Cocchi put the Mountaineers ahead 1-0 late in the first half in the 43rd minute. Cocchi got the ball on a rebound and shot the ball into heavy traffic as it deflected off of Lisa DuCote past Penn State keeper Alyssa Naeher. It was Cocchi's third goal of the season.
Leading 1-0, West Virginia forward Deana Everrett added another score early in the second half with a goal in the 50th minute. Everrett sprinted past the defense to receive Amanda Cicchini’s pass and beat Naeher to the left corner of the net.
Penn State (1-2-2) bounced back when Aubrey Aden-Buie put the Nittany Lions back in the game by heading home Heather Tomko’s cross in the 64th minute. But WVU survived a late surge by Penn State to preserve the upset, 2-1.
WVU dominated the first half of play, with six shots on goal while the Nittany Lions couldn’t manage to get any of their six shot tries on goal. Everrett had three of West Virginia’s best scoring opportunities in the opening 45 minutes. The sophomore had two one-on-one chances against Naeher and also hit the crossbar on a shot in the 15th minute.
Everrett finished the game with four of the team’s 16 shots. Naeher tallied six saves for Penn State, while Mountaineer keeper Lana Bannerman recorded two saves on 13 shots.
WVU is off to its best start in school history. The Mountaineers began the 1997 season 4-0 but fell to Notre Dame 3-0 in their fifth game.
The Mountaineers return to Morgantown to take on St. Bonaventure on Sunday, Sept. 10, at 12:30 p.m., at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
