Ready to Roll
November 07, 2008 10:24 AM | General
November 7, 2008
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| Carolyn Blank |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University women’s soccer team will try to extend its stay in the Big East Tournament when it battles Connecticut in the semifinals today at 2:30 p.m. in Notre Dame, Ind.
The No. 1-seeded Mountaineers of the American Division have not defeated No. 3-seeded UConn since 2003, tying the Huskies 0-0 in double overtime in what was one of their most difficult games of the season. Heading into South Bend, Ind., as the defending conference champions, WVU is ready to get over the Husky hump and battle their soccer-rich rivals in what should be a competitive matchup on Friday afternoon.
“We know we haven’t beaten them for the past few years and we made it a goal of ours this year to beat UConn,” forward Deanna Everett said. “We definitely have an opportunity to do that now.”
WVU is coming off another successful regular season under the tutelage of Coach Nikki-Izzo Brown, who has built the program from the ground-up since its inception in 1996. The Mountaineers finished at 13-2-5 against a difficult schedule with top-notch non-conference and conference opponents, providing them with a battle-tested mentality that they will need in the always-difficult Big East Tournament.
Junior midfielder Carolyn Blank, who ended last season’s conference tournament as the Big East Championship Most Outstanding Defensive Player, feels that any team that competes in arguably the nation’s toughest conference can experience long-term postseason success.
“We’ve got Notre Dame as the No. 1 team in the country, and every game in the Big East is a difficult game,” Blank said. “You can see that from our record that we’ve tied a lot of teams, and it’s been solid games every time we play against a Big East team. Hopefully a lot of teams from the BIG EAST make it in to the tournament.”
In WVU’s only contest with UConn this season on Oct. 12, the Mountaineers outplayed the Huskies in several facets. The Mountaineers tallied 25 shots, including eight on-goal, while the Huskies only produced four shots, with two on-goal.
However, Everett believes a major obstacle to WVU’s quest to repeat as Big East champions with be UConn goalkeeper and Big East Goalkeeper of the Year Stephanie Labbe, who stopped seven shots against the Mountaineers earlier this season.
“Last time we faced them I felt like we picked off the ball a lot and we had a lot of scoring opportunities,” Everett said. “We just need to execute and I think the last few games have been really good for us in terms of finishing the ball. That’ll be a key for us. They have a really good goalkeeper and finishing our opportunities will be key.”
But the Mountaineers enter Friday’s contest with a tremendous arsenal of scoring talent, which has been on display recently. WVU has won five straight games, scoring at least two goals in each contest, while topping out with a dominating 4-0 victory over Louisville in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament at Dick Dlesk Stadium.
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| Blake Miller |
WVU returns to the postseason loaded with scoring options. Breaking through in only her freshman season has been forward Blake Miller, who leads the team with 19 points and an astounding five game-winning goals. Everett follows with 18 points and five goals and Blank totals 12 points with five goals, including two game-winners.
Add in WVU’s defensive prowess led by goalkeeper Keri Butler and one of the nation’s premier defenders in Greer Barnes, and the Mountaineers boast a squad that is ready to reload and defend their conference crown against another deep and competitive Big East field.
“We know what it takes to get further, considering last year we had the best season in WVU history for women’s soccer,” Everett claimed. “A lot of returning players know what it takes and we know how hard we’re going to have to train and the kinds of things we need to do to get to that point again.”
And as the returning champions, Everett also believes this year’s team is immune to any pressure as a top seed with a target on its back.
“I think from having won the Big East Tournament last year, we now know what it takes to be champions. I don’t think we feel any pressure,” Everett added.
While the Mountaineers are assured of a spot in the NCAA Tournament, the players are hesitant to overlook what they have in front of them this weekend. There are plenty of other things they are playing for, and it is evident that anything less than a second conference championship will be somewhat of a disappointment for a team destined to travel far in the NCAA Tournament.
“Our focus is on the Big East Tournament right now,” Blank admitted. “Knock on wood I know we’re in the tournament, but we want that home field advantage and we know that in order to get that we need to win on Friday and Sunday. It’s been a goal for us to repeat, and we just want to keep on checking off our goals.”
