MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The No. 7-ranked West Virginia women’s soccer team took down Baylor 2-1 on Friday night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
The Mountaineers received goals from junior forward Alina Stahl and senior midfielder Stefany Ferrer-vanGinkel to help them to their third win in a row. WVU enjoyed a two-goal cushion before the visitors cut its deficit in half in the 85th minute. However, West Virginia closed out the contest to improve to 5-1 on the season.
“I think, in the first half, we were playing a little bit into how Baylor wanted the tempo of the game to go,” WVU coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “Once we settled the ball down and moved it, we did a better job. I think our centerbacks got a little bit more involved in the attack, and that was important. But I just thought we had to have good angles, take care of the ball and make sure we had good numbers around the ball.”
Stahl got to work early for WVU, earning a pair of shots on goal in the 18th and 20th minute, respectively. Seconds later, sophomore forward/defender Julianne Vallerand ripped a shot on net, further testing the Baylor goalkeeper early.
The Mountaineers (5-1, 5-1 Big 12) got on the board in the 36th minute after redshirt junior forward Lauren Segalla headed a ball from near midfield to Stahl, who cashed in with her second goal of the season to make it 1-0.
Stahl finished with four shots on the night, all of them on frame. WVU outshot Baylor (1-2-3, 1-2-3 Big 12), 6-1, in the opening 45 minutes and took its one-goal lead into the locker room for halftime.
In the second half, Ferrer-vanGinkel doubled the lead with a goal in the 68th minute. The reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week finished off a beautiful pass from sophomore defender Gabrielle Robinson to double the Mountaineers’ advantage. The goal proved to be the eventual game-winner – Ferrer-vanGinkel’s third of the campaign.
The Mountaineers created even more chances later on, as sophomore midfielder Aaliyah Scott was denied in front of the goal in the 76th minute. In all, West Virginia outshot Baylor, 12-5, including 9-3 in shots on goal.
The Bears did get within one with a goal in the 85th minute. Despite that, sophomore goalkeeper Kayza Massey made two saves and earned the win in goal for WVU.
Along with Stahl, Ferrer-vanGinkel chipped in with three shots on goal. With the win, WVU improved to 3-0 at home this season and 7-2-1 all-time against Baylor. Additionally, the Mountaineers have now won 48 of their last 49 matches when scoring two goals or more.
West Virginia returns to action Oct. 23, at Oklahoma. Kickoff at John Crain Field in Norman, Okla., is set for 8 p.m.
