No. 6 WVU Hands No. 14 Princeton First Defeat

Friday, September 15

Princeton, N.J.

4:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

6-2

Princeton

6-1

Team	1	2	Final F
West Virginia	1	0	1
Princeton	0	0	0

Photo by: Steven Prunty

September 15, 2017 07:43 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Box Score Season Stats

By: Shannon McNamara

PRINCETON, N.J. – For the second straight year, the West Virginia University women's soccer team handed Princeton its first loss of the season, as the No. 6-ranked Mountaineers defeated the No. 14 Tigers, 1-0, this afternoon, at Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium.

The Mountaineers (6-2) improved to 3-2 against top-25 teams today thanks to a strong defensive showing and a perfectly timed first career goal from junior defender Vanessa Flores.

"This game took 90 minutes of intensity. It was a battle out there," Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. "The physicality of this game was huge for our growth and to understand we can't get too emotional. We stayed above it, and we got the win."

Today's victory also is the team's second on the road against a ranked squad, marking just the fourth time since 2005 WVU has earned two road wins against ranked opponents in one season.

WVU finished with a 16-7 edge in shots. The Tigers (6-1) entered the match ranked No. 34 nationally with a 2.33 goals-per-game average; the Mountaineer defense denied Princeton a shot on-goal. The Tigers became the second team this season to fail to place a shot on-frame against the WVU backline.

"Our backline was stretched, but I thought we did a great job of dropping, reading cues and understanding their movement," Izzo-Brown added. "It was a huge day to get a shutout."

The clean sheet is the Mountaineers' second straight and fifth of the season. Sophomore Rylee Foster played all 90 minutes in net and defended six corner kicks.

The Mountaineers forced Natalie Grossie into three saves, all in the first half, and earned five corner kicks.

WVU made the most of its first corner kick of this afternoon. The ball was played long to senior midfielder Alli Magaletta, who headed it into junior forward Hannah Abraham inside the box. Abraham quickly played the ball to Flores, and she placed her shot from in front of the goal line to the right post for her first career score.

"It was an incredible goal, and Vanessa was just so solid," Izzo-Brown said. "What a big goal for her career first. I'm proud of Vanessa and the way she battled. Most importantly, though, I'm proud of how she helped us hold Princeton to no shots on-goal."

Flores is the third different Mountaineer to net her first career goal this season, joining classmate Bianca St. Georges and freshman Lauren Segalla. Eleven different Mountaineers have scored at least once this year.

WVU came out buzzing early in the second half, and senior forward Michaela Abam quickly looked for the insurance goal. She nearly had it in the 50th minute, as she intercepted a Princeton clearance before carrying the ball left of the box. There, she took a shot from 15-yards out that went just wide of the right post.

A no-call negated a second great chance for Abam in the 62nd minute. Abraham sent a cross in, and Abam split two Princeton defenders as she approached the ball. Near the right post, she was immediately pulled down. The teams played on, and the Tigers flipped the field.

Wide and high shots from Princeton's Carolyne Davidson and Mimi Asom in the 78th and 86th minutes were the Tigers' best chances late.

Abraham looked to push her point total to three in the 87th minute. Senior forward Heather Kaleiohi sent the ball over the top for Abraham, who immediately took a low, in-stride shot wide of the penalty line. The ball cruelly pinged off the far right post. Junior forward Sh'Nia Gordon pounced on the rebound, but her chip went into the side of the netting near the post.

WVU had to weather the storm early, with all four of Princeton's first-half shots coming in the first 13 minutes. The Tigers looked most dangerous in the fifth minute. After earning the first corner of the match, the Tigers used a throw-in to work the ball to Abby Givens, but her shot inside the box was blocked. With Foster off her line, Mikaela Symanovich sent a low shot toward the empty net, but it skirted the far-left post and went out of play.

Magaletta paced the field with four shots, while Abam and Gordon each tallied three.

With the win, WVU improves to 3-1 all-time against the Tigers.

The Mountaineers stay in Princeton and face La Salle on Sunday, Sept. 17, with kick from Roberts Stadium set for 1 p.m.