Sports@DominionPost.com
NORMAN, Okla. – The sixth-ranked West Virginia women’s soccer team earned a 1-0 win over Oklahoma on Friday night at John Crain Field in Norman, Okla.
Junior forward Alina Stahl tallied the match’s lone goal in the 20th minute, helping the Mountaineers to their fourth consecutive win. WVU also logged its second shutout of the season and first since Sept. 11, at Iowa State.
“Defensively, we’ve been playing so tough, but we’ve just had some mental errors that have cost us shutouts,” WVU coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “I was really happy to see us complete a game and finally get another clean sheet.”
WVU (6-1, 6-1 Big 12) created some early pressure in the final third, beginning with a shot on goal by junior midfielder Isabella Sibley in the seventh minute of play. That led to Stahl’s goal, her third of the season, in the 20th minute to give the Mountaineers an early lead.
After junior forward Lauren Segalla sent a cross into the middle of the box, Stahl found room to score off an OU defender’s deflection. It marked the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native’s sixth career game-winning goal and first of 2020.
“It’s very exciting that we’re able to be so versatile with different people scoring at different times,” Izzo-Brown said. “Obviously, Alina stepped up tonight and got the game-winner, so that was awesome.”
The Mountaineers nearly doubled their lead before the half when Stahl and senior midfielder Stefany Ferrer-vanGinkel scrambled for a loose ball inside the 6-yard box in the 40th minute. However, both shot attempts were blocked away before reaching the goal.
WVU led, 1-0, after 45 minutes.
West Virginia turned to its defense several times in the second half to preserve its lead. In the 64th minute, sophomore goalkeeper Kayza Massey was forced to come off her line to gobble up a dangerous Sooner cross. She went on to make a season-best three saves in the win, registering her first career clean sheet.
WVU’s back line – junior defender Jordan Brewster, redshirt sophomore defender Mackenzie Aunkst and sophomore defenders Nicole Payne and Gabrielle Robinson – helped the squad fight off other OU opportunities in the final half-hour of the contest. The Sooners (0-4-1, 0-4-1 Big 12) recorded five second-half shot attempts.
Stahl again nearly added her second goal of the night in the 89th minute, when she took on a shot from a tough angle that was batted away for a corner kick. In all, WVU outshot Oklahoma, 12-8, including 8-3 in shots on goal. Five different Mountaineers finished with multiple shot attempts in the win.
With the victory, West Virginia improved to 11-0-1 all-time against the Sooners. WVU has shut out OU seven times in the series, including each of the last three meetings. Additionally, the Mountaineers have now won 57 of their last 70 road games, dating back to 2014.
Next up, the Mountaineers return home for their final home contest of the fall Friday against No. 8 Kansas. Kickoff at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown is set for 7 p.m.
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