MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – As the pregame air resounding with Kill the Noise and Juicy J’s bass-heavy ‘Shell Shocked’ faded into Lizzy Edwards’ calls to her forward attackers, the Hawks (11-4-1) exploded for an 11-shot peppering of Fairmont Senior (9-6-1) to come away with a 3-0 win. 

Tristen Bright struck first after two other Hawks’ shots on goal fell short, faking out a defender and netting it in the 5th minute. 

Led by Abrianna Yoho, Fairmont Senior responded immediately after the reset with a swift drive down the pitch, but Edwards was there to stop the fast shot. Shortly after, Rachel Works came off the bench to put UHS up 2-0 in the 17th minute. 

The teams exchange shots through the rest of the half, but both Edwards and Rebecca Cox made big stops. 

The Polar Bears were completely stymied in the second half, unable to find any traction around the Hawks’ net. University, however, found its final goal in the closing 20 minutes. With the team working down the far wing with precision, Emily Lattea found an opening in front of the box to take a pass. With Cox sliding to make the stop, the quick freshman striker maneuvered around the slide to put in an uncontested goal and deliver the dagger. 

“Defense was superb,” coach Graham Peace said. “They really pressed us in the first half and the defense held. That’s what they’ve done all year – the backline is very solid. Hats off to Fairmont Senior, they put (a lot) of pressure on us.” 

Instead of playing keep-away in the final minutes, Peace continued with the aggressive attack allowing his girls to maintain possession to keep Fairmont Senior on its side of the field. 

“We had some people in different positions and were trying new things,” Peace said regarding the continued attack. “We used it as a training exercise, to be honest.”

In a game of goalies, Edwards shines

With both backlines collapsing through the first half, the win falls on Edwards. Logging her seventh shutout of the year, the junior keeper is a “blessing” according to Peace.

Eclipsing her season-high shutout record long ago, Edwards credits her growth to playing with her club team in the high school offseason. The junior is also a kicker on the Hawks football team and notes that helps with her long balls. 

“I think just playing with different people with different shots has helped me,” she said. “Our (team) atmosphere is really positive. With freshmen, sophomores and even some of the juniors … it’s an open atmosphere where we’re willing to talk and ask (each other) questions (that) help each other.”

“Lizzy is a tremendous goalkeeper,” Peace said. “She’s extremely determined back there, and she’s got the athleticism and tactical ability to go along with it. She made a couple of big saves for us tonight in the first half when they were pressing us.” 

The shutout was also the ninth of Edwards’ career. 

Up next 

UHS: The Hawks travel to Buckhannon-Upshur on Saturday for a 9 a.m. contest. 

Fairmont Senior: The Polar Bears travel to Liberty on Thursday. Kick off is set for 5:30 p.m.