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Bedillion, WVU Defense Targets Record
September 11, 2015 09:18 AM | Women's Soccer
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Goals. All teams have them. Big or small, attainable or aspirational, these objectives often push a squad to work harder to achieve success.
The No. 5/8 West Virginia University women’s soccer team lays out its clearly-defined list of goals each preseason. Certain goals carry over from season to season - go undefeated at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, win two conference titles and qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
Additional goals are centered on the team’s potential. Three weeks into the season, and the 2015 Mountaineers appear to be a balanced group. Sitting at its second-best ranking in the program’s 20-year history, WVU (5-1) has tallied 18 goals in five wins, averaging 8.83 points and 3.00 goals per game, the NCAA’s ninth- and 12th-best averages.
WVU is going to score goals.
Yet, it’ not the team’s scoring potential that has garnered national attention – it’s the Mountaineers’ ability to completely thwart opposing teams’ offensive attacks, negating clean looks and dwarfing offensive threats with their speed, strength and ability to see the plays develop.
Therefore, it’s no wonder the Mountaineers have set one seemingly attainable goal for 2015 – set the WVU single-season shutout record.
All five of WVU’s victories have come via a shutout. The Mountaineers have allowed just two goals all year – one a penalty kick in a 2-1 loss to No. 11/13 Virginia Tech on Aug. 23 – and held their opposition to just 29 shots, with only eight landing on-frame.
Replacing the Mountaineers’ five-year program shutout record (14, set in 2010) is certainly within the team’s reach.
“Getting a shutout each game is a huge goal for this team,” said senior defender Maggie Bedillion. “We really pride ourselves on denying other teams a goal. It’s just huge.”
A two-year backline starter, Bedillion, a Washington, Pennsylvania, native, has been a large part in the Mountaineers’ defensive dominance. WVU tallied 12 shutouts in 2014, and she sees no reason why the squad cannot get at least three more this year.
“Absolutely, if we put our minds to it, I believe we can get a shutout each game,” she enthused. “I really see us setting the record this year.”
Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown believes Bedillion’s senior leadership is one of the factors that will push the Mountaineers toward attaining their goal.
“I can’t speak enough about how Maggie has come into this season ready, both physically and mentally, to make her senior year her best year yet,” she explained.
Izzo-Brown was particularly impressed with Bedillion’s grit in the team’s thrilling 1-0 win over No. 5/7 Penn State on Sept. 4.
“She was intense from the first whistle to the last,” she explained. “She’s done so much for us.”
As for setting the program’s single-season shutout record, Izzo-Brown believes the Mountaineers possess the skill and desire needed to see that goal to fruition.
“It’s important to all of us that we get a clean sheet. Defense is going to win championships, and this team prides itself on getting shutouts,” she added. “It’s important to this team that it separates itself from any other WVU team that came before it. I know this team wants to continue to set records, and if they can set a new shutout record, I know we will have a very special season.”
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Bedillion is not only factoring into the Mountaineers’ defense. A strength on the outside, she routinely pushes the ball forward and often jumpstarts the Mountaineers’ attack.
She played a big role in WVU’s record-setting 8-0 win over Villanova on Sept. 6, assisting on two of Michaela Abam’s program-best four goals for her first points of the season.
“I don’t really pay attention to my own point total, but it was nice to get a few assists last week,” she said. “I will do whatever I can to help the team win.”
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The Mountaineers go from the hunters to the hunted tonight, as the team kicks off at RV/15 Ohio State at 7 p.m., from Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
The Buckeyes (4-0-1) are WVU’s third Big Ten Conference opponent in as many weeks. The Mountaineers are 2-0 against the Big Ten, having scored 1-0 victories at Maryland and against the Nittany Lions.
Bedillion is ready for a battle tonight similar to the one the Mountaineers received from the Nittany Lions last week.
“They are more compact, so I’m not sure how identical the two teams are, but I know Ohio State has a lot of speed up top,” she explained. “We’re definitely expecting a fight. We have to stay focused. We realize that we have a name that other teams want to take, so we have to defend our name each game.”
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The Mountaineers will travel back to Morgantown following tonight’s contest. The squad kicks off a five-match homestand at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium on Sunday against Longwood at 1 p.m.
Tickets for Sunday’s match are $3 for youth and $5 for adults. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets for $2 each, and admission is free for WVU students with a valid student I.D. Tickets can be purchased in advance at WVUGAME.com.
Weather permitting, WVU will host a clinic for kids 13 and under following Sunday’s game at the recreational field just outside the stadium’s main gate. It also is “Camper Reunion Day,” with free admission for those who wear their 2015 camp t-shirt. Additionally, kids under 13 who bring a completed Musket Coloring Sheet to the DDSS gate will receive one free youth admission and will be entered into a drawing to win a plush Musket toy.
A free shuttle bus will be available from the Mountainlair and the Brooke/Braxton Towers loop for an hour leading up to Sunday’s start time. Return service to the Mountainlair and the Brooke/Braxton Towers loop also will be available for an hour at the conclusion of the match.
Let’s Go, Mountaineers!
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