NORMAN, Okla. — A pair of braces from seniors Hannah Abraham and Bianca St. Georges propelled the No. 16 West Virginia women’s soccer team to a 4-1 victory over Oklahoma on Sunday at John Crain Field.
The Mountaineers wasted little time today, as St. Georges finished a ball from senior forward Sh’Nia Gordon just 2:50 into the match. Gordon pushed the ball ahead before sending it to St. Georges, who created room before directing her shot inside the goal box behind Oklahoma’s 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’s cross to the back post was found Abraham, and she sent her shot to the upper-right corner.
Oklahoma 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 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.”
The Mountaineers finished the game with a 15-10 shot advantage, 7-1 advantage in shots on goal and a 2-1 advantage in corner kicks. Crone finished the game with three saves for Oklahoma.
