Box Score MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 8 West Virginia University women's soccer team opened its home Big 12 Conference season at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium with a defining, 1-0 victory over No. 19 Oklahoma State tonight.
 
Senior defender Amandine Pierre-Louis delivered the game-winner, her second of the season, in the 29th minute. She also aided the backline in holding the Cowgirls (10-2-2, 3-1) to just two shots on-goal and two corner kicks. Both marks are OSU's second-lowest totals of the season.
 
"This team understood what was at stake," Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. "Oklahoma State is a great team – they are top-25 and were 3-0 in the league. We needed to get these points. We would have liked to get a few more after what the girls were able to create, but at the end all it took was one by Amandine, and it was a great performance."
 
Tonight's win is the WVU's (10-3, 3-1) fourth of the season against a ranked opponent. Additionally, it is the team's 10th victory of the year, marking the 18th straight season Izzo-Brown has led the Mountaineers to 10 or more wins.
 
With the victory, the Mountaineers now show a 35-match unbeaten streak at home against conference opponents, the third-longest active streak in the nation.
 
The Mountaineer defense was stellar tonight, holding OSU to just seven shots. The Cowgirls entered the match ranked No. 1 in the Big 12, No. 12 nationally, with a 2.54 goals/game average. WVU is only the second team this season to deny OSU a goal.
 
The clean sheet is the Mountaineers' eighth of the season and second straight in Big 12 play. All shutouts are credited to sophomore Rylee Foster, who made two saves tonight for her 16th career shutout.
 
The WVU defense has posted a shutout in eight of the team's last nine home Big 12 matches.
 
Pierre-Louis' brilliant individual effort gave WVU the lead for good midway through the first half. After receiving the ball just over midfield, she pushed forward, moving past several OSU defenders before ripping a low shot just inside the box that beat the Cowgirls' Michela Ongaro to the far-right post.
 
The goal, Pierre-Louis' team-best third of the season, was WVU's first, first-half score since senior forward Michaela Abam connected on a penalty kick in the 20th minute in a 1-0 win over La Salle on Sept. 17.
 
The Mountaineers finished with a season-high 36 shots, 13 on-frame. Ongaro's 12 stops tonight were twice as many saves as she made against three previous Big 12 opponents combined. Abam paced the field with eight shots. Senior midfielder Alli Magaletta and junior defender Bianca St. Georges each finished with a career-high three shots on-goal.
 
Three Cowgirls finished with two shots each, including junior forward Haley Woodard, who entered the match ranked No. 1 in the conference with a 0.67 goals/game average.
 
"She's so dynamic, and I can see where she's scoring all sorts of goals," Izzo-Brown added. "I was proud of the way we held her to zeroes. She's a good player, and OSU is a great team. We'll take this huge win."
 
WVU earned 10 corner kicks, two short of its season high, and held OSU to just two, both earned with less than three minutes remaining in the match.
 
The Mountaineers were inches away from a goal four minutes into the match, as senior forward Heather Kaleiohi earned a free look at the net. Her shot from inside the box cruelly pinged off the far-right post and back into play. The Mountaineers earned their first corner kick of the night off the chance.
 
Nine minutes later, junior defender Easther Mayi Kith was called into action, as the center back denied Woodard a chance. The Quebec City, Quebec, native caught up with the Cowgirl as she charged the net before sliding in front of her and swiping the ball away inside the 18-yard box.
 
The Cowgirls' biggest chance came in the 35th minute. Defender Kim Rodriguez had an open look, and her long shot sailed toward the net. The ball went through Foster's hands and banged off the right post. It then trickled along the goal line before Pierre-Louis cleared.
 
Foster's second save of the night came in the 48th minute, as she dropped to her knees to stop a low shot from Woodard.
 
WVU earned two looks in the 59th minute off its sixth corner kick. The first, a header by Magaletta at the far post, was batted out by Ongaro. Junior defender Vanessa Flores kicked the ball to Abam, who took a quick shot from 16-yards out, but it, too, was stopped by Ongaro.
 
Following the Cowgirls' late corner kicks, WVU earned its final corner of the evening. Magaletta again ran up on the ball for a header, but Ongaro made the dive toward the left post for her 12th stop.
 
With the win, WVU improves to 8-0 all-time against OSU. All but one of the victories has been a one-goal decision.
 
The Mountaineers stay at home and kick against Oklahoma on Sunday, Oct. 8, at 2 p.m., at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. Sunday is a Pink Match, and fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness. Additionally, it's a Dollar Day, and all tickets are available for $1 each.