Box Score NORMAN, Okla. – A pair of braces from seniors Hannah Abraham and Bianca St. Georges propelled the No. 16-ranked West Virginia University women's soccer team to a 4-1 victory at Oklahoma this afternoon at John Crain Field.
 
The victory puts the Mountaineers at a perfect 5-0 on the road in Big 12 play this season. WVU (11-3-3, 7-1) has won 10 of its last 11 matches, including the last four.
 
"It's my common theme, and it's probably getting boring, but I'm just following the leadership of this senior group," Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. "This team, as a whole – to do what we did today after a short turnaround against a really good team makes me very proud. This shows how badly they wanted the win and to get the result."
 
Defender St. Georges and forward Abraham tallied all six Mountaineer goals this weekend, as the pair also notched the scores in WVU's 2-1 win at Oklahoma State on Oct. 19. Today's offensive showing was St. Georges' second brace of the season and second since also scoring two goals in a 2-1 win over No. 13 Texas on Oct. 7. Abraham's two goals are her first career brace, and her game-winner, scored in the 19th minute, is her second of the weekend, third of the season and team-best ninth career game-winner.
 
"It's incredible how hard they worked to create those chances, and then to get those finishes from our seniors – I can't speak enough about our senior leadership," Izzo-Brown added. "Hard work pays off – that's their ingredient to success. No one works harder, and they both work their tailfeathers off. I'm proud that they're awarded for their hard work."
 
WVU's goal output matches its season high, first tallied in a 4-0 win over Boston University on Sept. 13 and matched in a 4-0 victory against Kansas State on Sept. 28.
 
The Mountaineers wasted little time today, as St. Georges finished a ball from senior forward Sh'Nia Gordon just 2:50 into the match for the second-fastest goal of the season and the 18th-fastest score in program history.
 
Gordon pushed the ball ahead before sending it to St. Georges, who created room before directing her shot inside the goal box behind OU' McKinley Crone for her first goal of the match.
 
Sixteen minutes later, Abraham tallied her first of two first-half goals and the eventual game-winner. Off a Sooner foul, freshman defender Jordan Brewster directed her low free kick into the box, where Abraham ran up on it and immediately directed her shot to the far-right post.
 
Abraham pushed the lead to 3-0 in the 28th minute. Sophomore forward Lauren Segalla was instrumental in the goal, beating her defender and pushing the ball to the end line. Her cross to the back post found Abraham, and she sent her shot to the upper-right corner for her third goal of the weekend and fourth of the season.
 
OU cut into the lead in the 58th minute off a goal from forward Ivanna Rivas. WVU junior goalkeeper Rylee Foster challenged Rivas on a drive into the box, blocking her first shot but not corralling the ball. Rivas pursued her rebound and placed her second attempt toward an empty right post.
 
St. Georges moved WVU's advantage back to three goals in the 61st minute, connecting on her second penalty kick of the weekend and fourth of the season.
 
The Mountaineers finished with a 15-10 shot advantage. The WVU backline held OU to just three shots in the first half, none on-goal.
 
WVU forced Crone into three saves, two in the first half, while Foster did not have to make a save for the Mountaineers.
 
St. Georges and Rivas paced the field with four shots each. Abraham and St. Georges each tallied a game-best two shots on-goal.
 
WVU finished with a 2-1 edge in corner kicks.  
 
Today marked only the second time this season the Mountaineers tallied two or more first-half goals.
 
The first-half Mountaineer advantage could have been 2-0 sooner, as St. Georges' second shot of the game was a quality chance. After receiving a ball from Segalla in the 10th minute, she fired a shot wide of the penalty line that took a small curve away from the top-right corner at the last minute.
 
Segalla earned her own look two minutes later, taking a thru ball from senior midfielder Nadya Gill near the end line for a shot at the right post. Crone was in position for the save.
 
St. Georges' last chance came in the 67th minute, as the Mountaineers earned a free kick two yards above the box, but her shot went high of the crossbar.
 
The Sooners' had a late chance to cut into the Mountaineers' lead, as WVU was whistled for a foul inside the box in the 85th minute. Midfielder Kaylee Dao stepped to the line, but her shot smacked off the crossbar and back into play.
 
With the win, WVU improves to 8-0-1 all-time against the Sooners (7-8-2, 3-4-1).
 
Of note, Izzo-Brown now stands one win short of career victory No. 350.
 
The Mountaineers close the regular-season against Kansas on Thursday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m., at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. Admission is free courtesy of WVU Medicine.