MORGANTOWN — When the ball left West Virginia’a Sh’Nia Gordon’s foot with a minute to go in regulation of Friday’s NCAA tournament match, Wake Forest head coach Tony Da Luz knew his team was going to have to answer a very loud bell.
Gordon’s kick hit the back of the net to tie the score at 2-2 as WVU fans jumped to their feet at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
“That overtime couldn’t come fast enough, that’s for sure,” Da Luz said, smirking. “We just didn’t want to lose it with a minute left. Some teams in the past would not have responded in that way — this team’s pretty special.”
“That way” was a 6-5 penalty kicks win after two scoreless sudden victory periods as the Demon Deacons (9-8-2) advanced to the Sweet 16 to take on Penn State on Sunday at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
Gordon’s late goal was one of many moments where West Virginia (15-4-4) showed its resolve, but when the Mountaineers needed bounces the most, it didn’t go their way.
Wake Forest scored the first goal on a corner kick from Kate Ravenna as Abby McNamara booted it in for a 1-0 lead at the 30-minute mark. Ten minutes later, WVU’s Jordan Brewster nailed a free kick to tie it at 1-1.
The Demon Deacons appeared to make the game-winning goal on another penalty kick in the 77th minute off the head of Bayley Feist, but Gordon’s late goal forced overtime.
The corner kick ended up being the final blow to the Mountaineers — Wake Forest scored two on four attempts, while West Virginia went 0-13 in that spot.
“It was frustrating — they just didn’t bounce in tonight,” WVU coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “We have 13 while Wake had four and they scored two. It’s a tough break for us, but that’s something that happens. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t find the back of the net.”
The match was reminiscent of the Mountaineers season, falling behind early but battling back, ultimately coming up short. They started the year 1-2-3 before finding their footing nearly a month in.
“It’s tough, and I told the team that this isn’t our defining moment, to lose in PKs,” Izzo-Brown said. “There is so much to be proud of and we played great soccer tonight. That’s something that our chins should be high on. I’ve had a great opportunity working with some incredible seniors that have taken me on an incredible journey all year long and this team has definitely been a great team to coach.
“It’s just always so hard when you finish with a loss.”
Senior captain Bianca St. Georges, who finished the season with nine goals and 13 assists, wanted to reflect on the good rather than Friday’s ending. This season was the shortest she made it in the postseason, reaching as high as the national championship match in 2016.
“I’m not just thinking of the game but also my whole time here,” St. Georges said. “Obviously we’re super disappointed, but it’s not all bad. We need to focus on the good things that happened here. We can’t just base our whole career based off those penalty kicks. We have to think of everything we’ve been through to get to this point.”
Wake Forest will face the Nittany Lions, who beat South Carolina 1-0 earlier Friday at Dick Dlesk. Penn State eliminated the Demon Deacons last season in Morgantown, so there is a revenge factor, according to goalkeeper Nonie Frishette.
The two teams also squared off this season — a 1-0 Wake Forest win in Winston Salem, N.C.
“Earlier in the year when we played them, we wanted to do it with the idea of redemption,” she said. “With this being the NCAA tournament, it really adds to that.
“We want to come out and do it again.”
Twitter @SeanManning_DP
