MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Sophomore forward Alina Stahl registered her first career brace to lead the West Virginia women’s soccer team past Bowling Green on Sunday 2-0 at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
The clean sheet marks the second straight for the WVU defense and the fourth of the season.
“Their record doesn’t reflect what type of team they are,” WVU coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “They have played such a tough nonconference schedule, so we knew that we were going to have our hands full today. We knew that we were going to have to find the back of the net and get shutout on the defensive side of the ball.”
WVU (5-3-1) wasted no time breaking the scoreless tie to start the game, as Stahl netted her first goal at the 2:02 mark of the contest. Stahl accepted a pass from senior Jessica Lisi and got to the right side of the box before sending a shot that went into the left side of the net.
The Mountaineers continued the offensive attack to begin the game as the squad outshot Bowling Green 4-0 in the first ten minutes of play. The Falcons (2-5-3) responded with a ferocious attack of their own, but senior goalkeeper Rylee Foster was able to fight off both attempts on goal. Neither team found the back of the net for the remainder of the first half as WVU entered the locker room with a 6-5 advantage in shots and a 3-2 edge in corner kicks.
The stout defense continued following the intermission as WVU and BGSU traded chances for the first 35 minutes of the final half.
Stahl broke through once again in the 83rd minute as she took a through pass from Isabella Sibley and fought off a Bowling Green defender to force a one-on-one chance with Falcons goalie Kathleen Duwve. The Pittsburgh native capitalized on the opportunity, sneaking a ball into the center of the net to give WVU a 2-0 advantage.
“It was incredible what Alina was able to do,” Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “We’ve talked a lot about doing your job. For Alina (Stahl) to finish two, it’s so important for her moving forward.”
Foster recorded her 35th career shutout. The Falcons finished the game with just four shots on goal and Duwve had four saves.
The Mountaineers open Big 12 Conference play in Morgantown at 7 p.m. Friday with a match against Iowa State.
