MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A goal from junior forward Heather Kaleiohi just 49 seconds into the match set the tone for the rest of the evening, as the No. 1-ranked and top-seeded West Virginia University women's soccer team accomplished the task before it and easily moved past Northern Kentucky, 3-0, in a first-round matchup in the 2016 NCAA Tournament in front of 1,646 fans at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

 

The program-record 20th victory of the season pushes the Mountaineers (20-1-1, 8-0) into the second round of the tournament, where they will meet the winner of Ohio State-Dayton on Friday, Nov. 18, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, at a time yet to be determined.

 

“We didn't feel like tonight was our best performance, but most importantly, we came in and found the back of the net,” Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “It's always important to find the back of the net in tournament time. Teams are playing you tight and trying to disrupt.”

 

 

Kaleiohi's scores, the second-fastest in program history and the team's fastest in the NCAA Tournament, gave WVU a one-goal cushion it would ride into the second half. Junior forward Michaela Abam added an insurance goal in the 53rd minute, and senior midfielder Ashley Lawrence tacked on the third score in the 76th minute.

 

WVU's win streak now stands at 13 straight, one short of matching the program record of 14, set in 2010.

 

With the victory, the Mountaineers improve to 16-15-2 in all-time NCAA Tournament play, 11-6-2 in home matches and 10-5-2 in the first round.

 

WVU has now recorded a shutout in four of its last six NCAA Tournament matches, dating back to the 2014 season. The Mountaineers' clean sheet against the Norse (13-7-1, 6-2-1 Horizon League) is their 15th of the year, matching the program single-season record set in 2015.

 

The stout Mountaineer defense held the Horizon League champions to just six shots, with only a first-half attempt landing on-frame. Junior Michelle Newhouse made one save for her fifth career shutout. WVU denied the Norse a corner kick; NKU is the fourth opponent and second straight to fail to earn a corner chance against the Mountaineer back line.  

 

WVU finished with a 34-6 edge in shots and forced NKU into 11 saves, including three team stops. The Mountaineers finished with seven corner kicks.

 

Lawrence tallied a game-high three points (1 G, 1 A) for the second straight match. With her assist on Kaleiohi's score, she moved her team-best season total to 10, the fourth-best program total and three short of the school single-season record. The Toronto native's career mark now stands at 29, the third-best total in program history and four off the school record.

 

Lawrence's persistence was crucial in setting up Kaleiohi's goal, as her first cross was blocked by an NKU defender. Off the deflection, she corralled the ball and sent it back in to Kaleiohi, who was posted just inside the 18-yard box. She immediately sent a shot in that sailed above the hand of Norse goalkeeper Emily Lohmann and toward the far right pocket.

 

Kaleiohi moves to second on the team with six goals, a career single-season best.

 

Abam's insurance goal was nothing short of spectacular. Situated along the line far left of the 18-yard line, the Houston native sent a long ball into the box. Lohmann made a move on the ball, but instead of tipping it away from the goal line, she pushed it behind her body and into the net for Abam's team-best 10th goal of the season.

 

Lawrence iced the match with a blast from 30-yards out in the 76th minute. NKU successfully defended the Mountaineers' 10th corner kick of the match, but the team's clearance could not get past a waiting Lawrence, who immediately settled the bouncing ball and sent it back toward the net and far out of Lohmann's reach.

 

“The first two goals were finesse touches, and Lawrence's was just incredible – it was a (ESPN) SportsCenter kind-of-goal,” Izzo-Brown said. “I'm very pleased with the three goals.”

 

Junior defender Amandine Pierre-Louis finished with a game-high eight shots; she earned the assist on Abam's score.

 

Following Kaleiohi's early score, the Mountaineers had to work to push shots around a tightly packed NKU defense. Sophomore forward Sh'Nia Gordon earned five looks in the first half, including a shot in the 28th minute from the top of the box, but it skimmed the left post and went out of play.

 

Just two minutes later, NKU flipped the field off a WVU offside whistle. Payton Naylor earned a clean shot from 14-yards out, but Newhouse made the easy save to preserve the one-goal lead.  

 

The Norse controlled the pace early in the second half. WVU's defense was pressed in the 49th minute, as forward Jessica Frey pushed the ball up from midfield and into the box. Center backs Kadeisha Buchanan and Easther Mayi Kith caught up with the quick junior and forced an early shot, which they combined to block away.

 

NKU defenders stepped up in the 84th minute to prevent a fourth WVU goal. The first team save came at the left post off a header from sophomore forward Hannah Abraham inside the box. Off the immediate corner kick, Pierre-Louis earned a long shot, but it also was stopped at the post by a Norse defender.

 

Tonight's match was the first-ever between WVU and NKU.

 

The match against Ohio State and Dayton kicked at 6 p.m. tonight. More information regarding the Mountaineers' second-round match will be available later this weekend at WVUsports.com.