American Division Champions
October 24, 2008 10:47 PM | General
By Tim Goodenow for MSNsportsNET.com
October 24, 2008
| #15 West Virginia 2, Marquette 0 Valley Fields Milwaukee, Wis. |
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Box Score |
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| Shots | 13 | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Shots on Goal | 6 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Saves | 3 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Corner Kicks | 5 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fouls | 12 | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Top WVU Players | ||||||||||||||||||||
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MILWAUKEE – Senior Deana Everrett assisted on two goals in leading the 15th-ranked West Virginia women’s soccer team past Marquette, 2-0, Friday evening at Valley Fields. WVU’s 11th shutout of the season gives the Mountaineers their third-straight BIG EAST American Division title.
“The ladies came out ready to win a championship and they earned it,” said Head Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “We beat a great team, in a tough environment tonight. Winning three straight regular season titles in the BIG EAST is such an honor because our league is so good and so deep.”
The Mountaineers, 11-2-5 (6-1-3 BIG EAST) on the season, came out strong and took an early 1-0 lead in the 12th minute on a goal from freshman Blake Miller.
Everrett worked the ball up the left half of the field, beating the Marquette sweeper, before slotting the ball to Miller in front of the net. Miller’s one-touch finish was her team-leading eighth goal of the season and sixth in league play.
The Mountaineers held a 10-3 advantage in shots after 45 minutes of play. Marquette, 9-6-3 (5-3-2 BIG EAST) on the year, was limited to one shot on-goal in the first half.
West Virginia’s All-America trio of Everrett, Greer Barnes and Amanda Cicchini all performed well, each playing the entire 90 minutes.
“Greer brought her ‘A’ game tonight and Amanda was all over the field,” said Izzo-Brown. “Marquette pressured us in the second half but our players stepped it up and were excellent.”
West Virginia added a second goal in the final minutes off the foot of redshirt freshman Erica Henderson. Everrett raced up field and sent a through ball to Henderson who beat goalkeeper Natalie Kulla to make it 2-0.
Everrett dished out her second assist of the match on Henderson’s fourth goal of the season. Everrett finished with a game-best four shots to go with her team-leading sixth and seventh assists. The Oakville, Ontario, native registered the fourth multi-assist game of her career.
“Deana was excellent tonight and created several opportunities throughout the match,” said Izzo-Brown. “She played just like a senior captain should in a crucial league match.”
WVU sophomore goalkeeper Kerri Butler was brilliant between the posts, making three stops on the night. Butler came up with two huge saves against Marquette senior Katie Kelly, one in each half, in working her ninth shutout of the season.
“Kerri was solid in net, just as she has been all season,” said Izzo-Brown. “She always seems to come up with a big save when we need her to.”
The two-goal effort marked just the third time this season Marquette has allowed two or more goals in a match.
West Virginia, which is 4-0 all-time against the Golden Eagles, is 7-1-0 this season when leading at the half. WVU has lost only one match in its last 16 contests (10-1-5).
The Mountaineers have won BIG EAST division crowns four times: 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
WVU has earned a first round bye in the BIG EAST tournament and closes out the season with a trip to Tampa, Fla. West Virginia battles USF in a quick turnaround on Sunday, Oct. 26, at 1 p.m.
