Late Goal Lifts WVU At Tennessee
September 05, 2008 10:12 PM | General
By Tim Goodenow for MSNsportsNET.com
September 5, 2008
BOX SCORE
 |
||
| Blake Miller and Morgan Betscher celebrate the game-winning goal at Tennessee.
WVU Sports Communications photo |
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Freshman Blake Miller’s first collegiate goal was the difference as 13th-ranked West Virginia defeated 20th-ranked Tennessee, 1-0, Friday night in Regal Soccer Stadium at the First Tennessee Lady Vols Classic.
At 80:46, Miller worked her magic inside the box, receiving a nice pass from Erica Henderson. Miller worked her way around two Volunteer defenders and fired a shot into the far upper 90 for the game-winner.
“Erica played a nice ball to me and I made one move and saw an opening,” said Miller. “I was able to finish the opportunity and can hopefully find the back of the net again on Sunday.”
Henderson and Miller combined for 42 minutes off the bench in the road victory, including a second half spark from Henderson at the striker position.
“Erica is such a versatile player for us and she did a great job tonight. She came in and worked hard,” said Head Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “She set up the goal by creating an opportunity and serving a nice ball to Blake. I’m proud of those two freshmen. Their play was so critical in an important game for us.”
Sophomore Goalkeeper Kerri Butler preserved the shutout in the final minute with a punch save on a Tennessee corner kick. Butler finished with three saves in her third shutout of the year.
Possession went back and forth throughout the match with both teams trading scoring chances. West Virginia held a 12-10 shot advantage while Tennessee took five more corner kicks (6-1) than WVU.
The Lady Vols wasted no time putting together the match’s first scoring opportunity five minutes into the contest. All-America forward Kylee Rossi took a shot from 16-yards out as WVU’s Kelsey Fowler made a team save in front of the goal to prevent an early score.
Fowler was excellent tonight, both in her ball distribution and keeping the back line organized. The senior limited Rossi to only two shots on the night.
“Kelsey was brilliant out there,” Izzo-Brown said. “She won a lot of balls, was a great leader and kept our defense together. She stepped up her game tonight.”
Eight different Mountaineers registered at least one shot, led by senior Greer Barnes’ three-shot night.
West Virginia attempted seven first-half shots, none more dangerous than senior Deana Everrett’s shot from 8-yards out in the 14th minute. The forward fired a shot low and a sliding Jaimel Johnson came up with a UT save.
“It’s a great win any time you beat a team like Tennessee,” Izzo-Brown. said “They are a tough team and provide a tough environment to play in. We made some second half adjustments that paid off and I’m very proud of the effort our ladies gave.”
West Virginia, now 3-0 all-time against the Vols, improves to 3-1-0 on the season and Tennessee dips to 1-3-0.
The Mountaineers return to action Sunday morning against Washington State for game two of the First Tennessee Lady Vols Classic. Kickoff at Regal Soccer Stadium is slated for 11:30 a.m.
