WVU Scorches Louisville
November 02, 2008 04:31 PM | General
November 2, 2008
| Louisville 0, #15 West Virginia 4 BIG EAST Quarterfinals Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium Morgantown, W.Va. |
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Box Score |
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| Shots | 8 | 19 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Shots on Goal | 3 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Saves | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Corner Kicks | 2 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fouls | 6 | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Top WVU Players | ||||||||||||||||||||
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s soccer team used a plethora of weapons in a 4-0 defeat of Louisville in the BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
With the win, the American Division Champions and No. 1 seed Mountaineers advance to the semifinals of the 2008 BIG EAST Championship and meet No. 3 seed UConn on Friday, Nov. 7, at 2:30 p.m., in Notre Dame, Ind.
The 15th-ranked Mountaineers (13-2-5, 7-1-3 BIG EAST) treated a crowd of 918 to an offensive show as they scored two goals in each half and outshot the Cardinals (9-7-3, 6-3-2 BIG EAST), 19-8.
“In the game of soccer you need to play hard for 90 minutes. We obviously wanted to get a shutout, and typically 2-0 games are enough to win,” Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown says. “These girls wanted more and they wanted to make a statement to let everyone know that we want to defend that BIG EAST Championship and we’re going to keep coming after you.”
The game was highlighted by many players, including senior forward Deana Everrett, who led the attack with six shots.
Everrett had numerous chances throughout the match, and just 45 seconds in, freshman Erica Henderson worked her way down the left side of the field and crossed the ball to Everrett, who volleyed the ball wide right of the goal.
The pressure continued in the 25th minute when Everrett was one-versus-one with a defender and chipped the ball just over the top of the net.
The Mountaineers finally got on the board in the 27th minute when senior Kelsey Fowler headed the ball towards the goal, but it was cleared out by a Louisville defender. Junior Carolyn Blank gained control of the rebound and headed it in for her fifth goal of the season.
“It was a great header by Kelsey and I just saw it pop up,” Blank says. “She (Louisville goalie Katie Zoeller) was jumping the same time as me and I happened to get there before she did.”
It only took a few minutes for the Mountaineers to pad their lead. Senior Robin Rushton had a throw-in in the 34th minute, then received a return pass and found Everrett open, who crossed the ball to freshman Blake Miller. Miller found the back of the net for her ninth goal of the season.
Miller’s nine goals are the most for any Mountaineer freshman and surpass graduate Ashley Banks’ eight goals.
West Virginia finished the first half outshooting the Cardinals 13-3, and holding the edge in corner kicks, 7-1.
Louisville came out in the second half with freshman Chloe Kiefer replacing the junior Zoeller in net. Zoeller and Kiefer each had two goals against and neither recorded a save.
The second stanza was highlighted by a great individual effort from Everrett who took control of the Louisville defense in the 67th minute. Everrett dribbled through the box, maneuvering through two Louisville players, and took a shot while falling backwards that found a hole between the post and Kiefer and went into the back of the net.
West Virginia also got a great effort from the bench today, especially senior Stephanie Burgess, who played 37 minutes. Burgess helped create a goal in the box off of her blocked shot in which freshman Chelsey Corroto served the ball to senior Greer Barnes, who knocked home the fourth and final goal of the game. The ball went off Louisville midfielder Katie Cunningham and into the net. The goal was the second of the season for Barnes.
“When we connect our passes, play as a team, communicate and do all of the things we need to do, we’re a great team and hard to beat,” Barnes says. “We did a great job of that today.”
Nine West Virginia players took at least one shot. Burgess was second on the team with four, while Barnes and Blank each had two.
Offensively Louisville never had a chance to get anything generated with the talented defensive corps of Barnes, Fowler, Rushton and junior Nicole Mailloux. Sophomore Kerri Butler had three saves in 90 minutes of play en route to her 12th shutout of the season.
The Mountaineers are now 3-0-1 all-time against Louisville and 2-0-1 in conference tournament play.
The Mountaineers’ next opponent, UConn, advanced to the semifinals with a 2-1 come-from-behind win at Georgetown on Sunday afternoon. West Virginia tied UConn 0-0 on Oct. 12 on ESPNU. All-time, the Mountaineers are 2-11-1 against the Huskies.
“We’re going to have UConn and we’re excited to have that game,” Izzo-Brown says. “UConn is definitely a team we want to beat and they’re a good team. We’re getting excited to get to Notre Dame and get one step closer to a BIG EAST Championship.”
The match will be televised on CBS College Sports.
