Women's Soccer: WVU Scores Win At USF
October 26, 2008 03:37 PM | General
By Tim Goodenow for MSNsportsNET.com
October 26, 2008
| #15 West Virginia 2, South Florida 0 USF Soccer Stadium Tampa, Fla. |
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Box Score |
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| Stat Comparison | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Shots | 20 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Shots on Goal | 12 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Saves | 2 | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Corner Kicks | 9 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fouls | 7 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Top WVU Players | ||||||||||||||||||||
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TAMPA, Fla. - The 15th-ranked West Virginia women’s soccer team received goals from freshman Morgan Betscher and senior Amanda Cicchini, in knocking off USF, 2-0, Sunday afternoon at USF Soccer Stadium in Tampa.
“It was a total team effort today,” said Head Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “Our legs were tired but we sucked it up and stayed focused.”
Betscher put the Mountaineers on top 1-0 at the 32:12 mark, scoring her second goal of the season.
Junior Carolyn Blank took the ball forward to the end line, passed it back to Cicchini who found Betscher open at the top of the 18-yard box. Betscher drove the ball inside the near post for her first career game-winner. Blank and Cicchini were credited with assists on the play.
“Morgan did a great job of creating an opportunity for herself. She drove that ball low and hard,” said Izzo-Brown. “Giving us a 1-0 lead at the half was huge.”
WVU added to its lead in the 88th minute on a brilliant goal from All-America midfielder Cicchini. Cicchini received the ball just past midfield and raced down the middle, beating two USF defenders before lacing a shot into the back of the net from 16-yards out.
“Amanda was outstanding today and her goal was unbelievable,” said Izzo-Brown. “Their goalkeeper didn’t even have time to react. It was a great goal.”
Six Mountaineers attempted two or more shots, led by freshman Blake Miller with five. WVU has out-shot its opponent in every game this season, including a 20-5 advantage over the Bulls today.
The Mountaineer defense was excellent again, holding USF to only two shots on-goal and no corner kicks. The zero corner kicks allowed marked the second time this season for WVU (vs. Connecticut, Oct. 12).
Sophomore goalkeeper Kerri Butler worked all 90 minutes, making two saves in picking up the team’s 12th shutout of the year.
“Kerri was a great leader in the back for us today,” said Izzo-Brown. “And Carolyn played a full 90 minutes with a lot of intensity. She gave us what we needed in midfield and kept us organized.”
USF goalkeeper Mallori Lofton-Malachi finished with 10 saves in 90 minutes between the posts.
The Mountaineers improve to 12-2-5 overall, 7-1-3 in BIG EAST play. The Bulls fall to 7-8-3 overall, 3-7-1 in the BIG EAST.
WVU ends the regular season on a six-game (5-0-1) unbeaten steak, out-scoring opponents 11-2 in that span.
“It’s a tough two-game road trip to go from a cold night in Marquette to a hot afternoon in Tampa,” said Izzo-Brown. “But it was a great weekend for this team. This is how you want to finish, heading into postseason play.”
After earning a first round bye in this year’s BIG EAST tournament, the Mountaineers await the winner of Pitt (No. 5 seed-American) and Louisville (No. 4 seed-National). The Panthers and Cardinals square off on Thursday, Oct. 30, in Louisville, Ky.
West Virginia will host the BIG EAST quarterfinal match on Sunday, Nov. 2, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.
The 2008 BIG EAST Championship is a 10-team single-elimination tournament with the top five teams in each division, seeded by conference point total, qualifying for the conference championship. Notre Dame’s Alumni Stadium will serve as host for the semifinals (Nov. 7) and finals (Nov. 9).
