Women's Soccer: WVU Completes Road Swing
October 07, 2010 09:35 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia women’s soccer team completes its four-match conference road swing with matches at Syracuse and St. John’s this weekend. The Mountaineers will face the Orange on Friday, Oct. 8, at 7 p.m. in Syracuse, N.Y. WVU concludes weekend play in Queens, N.Y., with a 1 p.m. contest at St. John’s on Sunday, Oct. 10.
The Orange are led by third-year coach Phil Wheddon, who also serves as the current goalkeeper coach for the US Olympic team. Syracuse returned eight starters and 13 letterwinners from last season.
“Syracuse has brought in a lot of international players to its program,” says coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “They have a different look and a different style than what we saw a year ago. This team has some good results already and Friday’s match will be very challenging for us.”
The Mountaineers are 6-3-2 all-time against SU, including a 1-1-2 mark at SU Soccer Stadium with a pair of ties in their last two meetings (2005, 2007). West Virginia has pitched a shutout in three of its last four meetings, including a 1-0 victory last season in Morgantown.
The Syracuse offense is paced by all-BIG EAST forward Megan Bellingham (3G, 3A) and all-BIG EAST midfielder Tina Romagnuolo (3G). Freshman Alyscha Mottershead has scored the last two goals for the Orange, her only points on the season.
The Orange have shifted positions of four returning starters to make up their back line to work with new goalkeeper Brittany Anghel. Anghel has recorded four shutouts in 12 matches, while allowing 19 goals on the season.
Ian Stone is in his 17th season at the helm of Red Storm soccer, the second-longest tenured coach in the BIG EAST. St. John’s lost eight starters to graduation and welcomed 18 newcomers to this season’s squad.
“I have only seen a little bit of St. John’s as of right now,” says Izzo-Brown. “While they are a young team, they are very dynamic and can be dangerous. They are typically a good team at home, so we have our hands full this weekend.”
WVU is 9-2-3 all-time against the Red Storm, but only 1-1-2 in matches played at St. John’s Belson Stadium. The Mountaineers have kept St. John’s scoreless in their previous five meetings, including a 1-0 WVU victory in Morgantown a year ago.
A young St. John’s team has struggled to find the back of the net this season, scoring only eight goals through 12 matches. Sophomore Runa Stefansdottir leads the team in points with two goals and two assists.
All-BIG EAST midfielder Nicole Pasciolla anchors the midfield with goalkeeper Kristin Russell in charge of the defense. Russell guided one of the nation’s best defenses a year ago, recording 10 shutouts with a 0.59 goals-against average. This season, Russell and the STJ defense have earned four shutouts while allowing 15 goals scored.
Live Stats are available for Friday’s match at SUAthletics.com while Sunday’s action can be found at MSNsportsNET.com.
The Orange are led by third-year coach Phil Wheddon, who also serves as the current goalkeeper coach for the US Olympic team. Syracuse returned eight starters and 13 letterwinners from last season.
“Syracuse has brought in a lot of international players to its program,” says coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “They have a different look and a different style than what we saw a year ago. This team has some good results already and Friday’s match will be very challenging for us.”
The Mountaineers are 6-3-2 all-time against SU, including a 1-1-2 mark at SU Soccer Stadium with a pair of ties in their last two meetings (2005, 2007). West Virginia has pitched a shutout in three of its last four meetings, including a 1-0 victory last season in Morgantown.
The Syracuse offense is paced by all-BIG EAST forward Megan Bellingham (3G, 3A) and all-BIG EAST midfielder Tina Romagnuolo (3G). Freshman Alyscha Mottershead has scored the last two goals for the Orange, her only points on the season.
The Orange have shifted positions of four returning starters to make up their back line to work with new goalkeeper Brittany Anghel. Anghel has recorded four shutouts in 12 matches, while allowing 19 goals on the season.
Ian Stone is in his 17th season at the helm of Red Storm soccer, the second-longest tenured coach in the BIG EAST. St. John’s lost eight starters to graduation and welcomed 18 newcomers to this season’s squad.
“I have only seen a little bit of St. John’s as of right now,” says Izzo-Brown. “While they are a young team, they are very dynamic and can be dangerous. They are typically a good team at home, so we have our hands full this weekend.”
WVU is 9-2-3 all-time against the Red Storm, but only 1-1-2 in matches played at St. John’s Belson Stadium. The Mountaineers have kept St. John’s scoreless in their previous five meetings, including a 1-0 WVU victory in Morgantown a year ago.
A young St. John’s team has struggled to find the back of the net this season, scoring only eight goals through 12 matches. Sophomore Runa Stefansdottir leads the team in points with two goals and two assists.
All-BIG EAST midfielder Nicole Pasciolla anchors the midfield with goalkeeper Kristin Russell in charge of the defense. Russell guided one of the nation’s best defenses a year ago, recording 10 shutouts with a 0.59 goals-against average. This season, Russell and the STJ defense have earned four shutouts while allowing 15 goals scored.
Live Stats are available for Friday’s match at SUAthletics.com while Sunday’s action can be found at MSNsportsNET.com.
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