MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women's soccer team recorded a 2-0 win over Colorado on Senior Day at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown on Sunday afternoon.
Celebrating 10 senior members of the squad, the Mountaineers (11-4-2, 7-2-1 Big 12) used goals from a pair of seniors to secure the victory. Midfielder Lisa Schöppl found the back of the net in the first half to put WVU ahead, before forward
Aria Bilal scored an insurance tally in the second half for the two-goal win. Schöppl's score was credited as the game winner, the first of her career.
Despite a couple of chances in the early going, West Virginia didn't get on the board until midway through the first half. On its second corner kick opportunity of the game, fifth-year senior midfielder
Lilly McCarthy took the corner and sent a well-struck ball into the box. It found the head of Schöppl, who headed it down into the net and out of reach of the Buffaloes' keeper. The score marked WVU's eighth goal off a corner kick this season and sixth in Big 12 play.
After taking the 1-0 advantage into the half, the Mountaineers came back in the second and looked to be aching for an insurance tally. While Colorado looked like it might equalize, it was Bilal who was next to find the back of the net. Sophomore forward
Jordyn Wilson took control of the ball inside the attacking third and sent it inside to Bilal, who beat the CU defender and got a foot on the ball for the score. It marked Bilal's first goal of the season, as well as the third of her career.
From there, redshirt sophomore goalkeeper
Mackenzie Smith and the WVU defense stayed strong to keep Colorado off the board and earn their eighth clean sheet of the season. Smith added three saves in the shutout.
In the final box score, West Virginia outshot CU, 11-7, while the Buffaloes bested the Mountaineers in shots on goal, 3-2. WVU earned seven corner kicks on the afternoon, compared to just two for Colorado. With the win, West Virginia moves to 1-0 against Colorado all-time, with Sunday's contest marking the two teams' first-ever meeting. WVU is now 3-0 against first-time opponents this season.
West Virginia now prepares to cap the regular season on the road, traveling to take on Houston on Friday, Oct. 25. Kickoff at UH's Carl Lewis International Complex in Houston, Texas, is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUWomensSoccer on
Twitter,
Facebook and
Instagram.