WASHINGTON — West Virginia (11-7-2) may have lost to No. 25 Georgetown (13-5-3) in the regular season, but the Hoyas were no match for the Mountaineers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Rylee Foster locked down the net in the 2-0 shutout with seven saves — her 38th career blanking — while leading scorer Alina Stahl was huge on offense with two goals. Stahl now has seven goals this year.
Both of Stahl’s goals against Anna Leat came in the first half. Her first was a rebound shot off save in the 18th minute, and her final came off a dish by Lizzie Mayfield in the 39th minute. Both were inside the box.
The Hoyas peppered Foster throughout the 90 minutes, shooting 19 times with seven shots on goal, five of which came in the second half. Carson Nizialek led GU with three shots on goal, while leading scorer Amanda Carolan had just one out of three shots.
West Virginia put five shots on goal out of eight total shots — three coming from Stahl and one each from Isabella Sibley and Jade
Gentile.
The win gives the Mountaineers the all-time NCAA Tournament series lead at 1-0-1 over the Hoyas. The last time WVU and GU faced each other in 2014, the Hoyas advanced to the second round after edging the Mountaineers in penalty kicks.
West Virginia next advances to face Central Connecticut State (13-4-4) on Friday after CCSU upset No. 4 Rutgers, 1-0. The Blue Devils have not made the second round since 2003 when they defeated Boston College 1-0.
Erica Bardes picked up the game-winner for the Blue Devils — her fifth goal of the year — in the 88th minute on a deep ball into the top right corner, while sophomore goalkeeper Amanda McQuillan saved 11 shots on goal. She also stopped Ali Amirah’s penalty kick in the 71st minute. The win marked McQuillian’s fifth shutout of the season.
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