Abam Named Athlete of the Week
September 22, 2014 01:30 PM | General
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| Abam |
Abam, a Houston native, scored the game-winner in the 15th minute, a pretty chip over the Wildcats’ goalkeeper in the 15th minute. She added the team’s fourth and final goal in the 56th minute, a one-timer from the middle of the box that beat the keeper near post.
Abam is the third Mountaineer to score two goals in one game this season. Her season goal total now stands at three. She started both of the team’s matches this weekend at forward for her first career starts.
The Mountaineers have now scored four goals in three straight games for the first time since 2006. The team rides a seven-match unbeaten streak into its Big 12 Conference opener at TCU on Sept. 26.
This Week in Women’s Soccer: The No. 13-ranked Mountaineers open the defense of their back-to-back Big 12 Conference regular-season titles with a swing through Texas this weekend … WVU opens conference play at TCU on Friday, Sept. 26, at 8 p.m. ET … the team then plays at Texas on Sunday, Sept. 28, with a 2 p.m. ET kick … the match against the Longhorns will be broadcast on the Longhorn Network.
Last Week in Women’s Soccer: The Mountaineers (7-2-1) completed their eight-match homestand at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium with two wins over the weekend … WVU defeated La Salle, 4-1, on Sept. 19, and Villanova, 4-0, on Sept. 21 … all four of WVU’s goals against the Explorers came in the first half … junior midfielder Leah Emaus converted both of her shots on Friday for the first two-goal performance of her career … junior forward Kailey Utley and redshirt-freshman forward Amandine Pierre-Louis also scored, the first career goal for Pierre-Louis … junior Hannah Steadman made three saves in the win … the team had its fourth four-goal performance on Sunday against the Wildcats … Steadman made one save in 45 minutes of action for the win … seven Mountaineers earned at least one point, paced by freshman forward Michaela Abam’s two goals, her first career two-goal performance … defenders Jess Crowder and Maggie Bedillion also added goals.
Notes & Quotes: WVU rides a seven-match unbeaten streak into conference play … the Mountaineers have scored four more goals in three straight matches for the first time since 2006 … three different Mountaineers have scored two goals in one game this year (Kate Schwindel, Emaus, Abam) … Emaus leads WVU with four goals … WVU tallied a season-high 16 shots on-goal Friday night, its best output since at least 2009 … the Mountaineers are 14-1-1 in all-time Big 12 play … WVU is 2-1 against TCU and Texas … WVU defeated both teams in Morgantown in 2013, beating the Longhorns 2-1 on Oct. 4 and the Horned Frogs 3-2 in overtime on Oct. 13.
This Week in Men’s Soccer: The Mountaineers will conclude a three-game road swing, before coming home this week … WVU will travel to James Madison on Tuesday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m., before coming home to host Niagara on Friday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m.
Last Week in Men’s Soccer: WVU snapped a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory at High Point last week … the Mountaineers’ record stands at 4-3.
Notes and Quotes: The Mountaineers used two goals in the span of a minute to defeat High Point on Saturday evening … junior Jamie Merriam scored in the 58th minute off assists from senior Andy Bevin and sophomore Jack Elliott … Bevin leads the team in points (12) and assists (6), while Merriam has scored a goal in five of his six games played … freshman Tolu Ibikunle scored his first career goal in the 59th minute on a breakaway following a long pass by freshman Louis Thomas.
Coach Marlon LeBlanc: “I thought we managed the game pretty well. We lost two or three guys tonight to injury, but you have to credit the substitutions that came in. All the credit goes to the players. They executed the tactics, and we managed the game real well.” – coach Marlon LeBlanc following the 2-1 win at High Point.
This Week in Volleyball: The Mountaineers traveled to North Carolina to face Duke and No. 13 North Carolina as part of the Big 12-ACC Challenge ... Jordan Anderson had a team-best 18 kills as WVU dropped a 3-1 contest to the Blue Devils, marking the squad’s first loss since August 29 when they fell to then-No. 9 ... BYU 3-0 in the season opener ... Evyn McCoy had a game-high eight block assists and Anna Panagiotalopoulos had 13 digs vs. Duke ... Anderson again led the team with 12 kills in a 3-0 loss to No. 13 North Carolina ... libero Gianna Gotterba had 10 digs and Lamprini Kontantinidou had 26 assists against the Tar Heels.
Last Week in Volleyball: West Virginia opens Big 12 play with a bang, hosting the No. 2-ranked Texas Longhorns on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum ... the match will be televised on ESPNU ... the Mountaineers then travel to Lubbock, Texas, this weekend to face Texas Tech on Saturday ... the Match is slated for 2 p.m.
Coach Jill Kramer: “These teams don’t let you make errors,” said coach Jill Kramer. “Texas is not going to let you make errors, so these are the types of teams we need to be playing heading into conference play. It was good for us to get to see them. North Carolina is a great blocking team and a great serving team. They did a good job of that tonight and we’re going to see that again on Wednesday.”
This Week in Cross Country: The Mountaineers are idle this week and return to action on Saturday, October 4, at the Greater Louisville Classic.
Last Week in Cross Country: West Virginia did not compete.
Notes & Quotes: The Mountaineers are ranked No. 21 in the most recent United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national poll … for the first time since 2011, West Virginia has recorded back-to-back top-five finishes to begin a season … WVU came in at No. 4 in the Mid-Atlantic Region in the most recent USTFCCCA Regional Rankins.
Coach Sean Cleary: “The next few meets will give us a clearer picture of the landscape of our rankings. For now, we will keep working hard and putting together our very best team.”
This Week in Tennis: The Mountaineers opens its fall season at home with the Pink Invitational from Sept. 26-28 ... West Virginia will host Cleveland State University, The University at Buffalo and Indiana University of Pennsylavania with action starting at 9 a.m. ... WVU will open doubles play on Friday, Sept. 26 against Buffalo at 12 p.m. ... the Mountaineers will wear pink jerseys in support of brest cancer awareness.
Last Week in Tennis: West Virginia did not compete.
Coach Miha Lisac: “The results will be coming soon for our program. Our main focus is not only on winning or losing a match, but continuing to push forward and build on all aspects of the program,” said Lisac.
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