WVU Storms Past No. 11 St. John's
October 11, 2009 05:11 PM | General
By Tim Goodenow for MSNsportsNET.com
October 11, 2009
BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia sophomore Meghan Lewis promised her senior teammates a victory on Senior Day against 11th-ranked St. John’s. Lewis made good on her promise, delivering her first career goal in leading the Mountaineers past the Red Storm, 1-0, Sunday afternoon in front of 828 fans at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
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| Sophomore Meghan Lewis scored her first collegiate goal Sunday to help knock off No. 11 St. John's.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
WVU started out strong and jumped out to a 1-0 lead on the first shot of the match at the 7:47 mark. The Mountaineers earned a corner kick that was sent long and out of the box, quickly chased down by midfielder Bri Rodriguez. Rodriguez immediately sent a ball back into the box where Lewis soared high in the air and headed the ball past St. John’s goalkeeper Kristin Russell for the score.
“I couldn’t have picked a better day to score my first goal for the seniors,” said Lewis, the only Mountaineer to play every minute this season. “It was a great hustle play by Bri and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and finish the scoring chance.”
West Virginia (7-4-4, 4-2-1 BIG EAST) was solid in all areas of the field on Sunday, outshooting St. John’s (10-3-1, 4-2-1) 11-4 on the afternoon and holding a 6-1 edge on corner kicks.
WVU’s defense was outstanding in picking up its third-straight shutout. The Mountaineers have not allowed a goal since their overtime loss to then No. 8-ranked Notre Dame.
“Our defense was great today,” said Lewis. “We knew St. John’s forwards would make runs at us. Our communication was strong and we held them to a few good looks. It’s tough to get shutouts but we are playing pretty well.”
Lewis, seniors Nicole Mailloux and Heather Saffel, and redshirt sophomore Erica Henderson lured the Red Storm offense into seven offsides calls.
“We did a really good job of keeping our shape with such a possession-oriented team like St. John’s,” said coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “Our midfield did a great job of taking away some good looks and our back line organization was tremendous.”
Lewis nearly netted a second goal off a corner kick in the 67th minute. Midfielder Ashtin Larkin served ball into the box where Lewis slotted a ball at the goal with Russell making a punch save, deflecting the ball over the crossbar.
Eight different Mountaineers attempted a shot led by Lewis, and forwards Blake Miller and Megan Mischler who each attempted two shots.
In the 48th minute, Henderson connected on WVU’s third corner kick of the match, sending the ball hard at the near post. Red Storm defender Tara Mendoza cleared the ball off the goal line for a team save.
The Mountaineers continued to pressure St. John’s back line and Miller found the post in the 62nd minute. Miller freed herself at the top of the box and fired a shot from 20-yards out that clanked off the left post.
WVU goalkeeper Kerri Butler was strong again in goal, making two saves in her seventh shutout of the season.
The Red Storm’s best look came in the 14th minute on a hard shot from defender Courtney Lane. Lane pushed forward and took a long shot from 26-yards out, forcing Butler to her left for the save.
West Virginia had a solid scoring chance just before halftime. Midfielder Morgan Betscher split a pair of St. John’s defenders on the right side and headed towards the end line. Betscher placed a ball on the ground to Mischler who one-timed the ball over the goal from 8-yards out.
"It was a total team effort in beating the 11th-best team in the country today," said Izzo-Brown. "The ladies were very determined and focused from the start of the match. Then with it being Senior Day and Breast Cancer Awareness Day, it was just icing on the cake."
At halftime, the WVU women’s soccer program presented a check for nearly $12,000 for the Betty Puskar Breast Cancer Fund at the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center. The Mountaineers wore pink jerseys in today’s win.
Four seniors – Mailloux, Saffel, Carolyn Blank and Mallory Beck – were recognized before the match. Over the past five years, these student-athletes have combined for a 65-22-18 record under Izzo-Brown.
The Mountaineers close out the regular season with four straight BIG EAST road matches. West Virginia next travels to Villanova on Friday, Oct. 16 and Georgetown on Sunday, Oct. 18.
