CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The West Virginia women’s soccer team ended its 2019 campaign in the third round of the NCAA tournament after falling to Washington State 3-0 on Sunday at Klöckner Stadium.
“All of the credit goes to Washington State, they were a team that was able to put three great goals in the back of the net,” Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “I wish Washington State nothing but the best. I’m super proud of how we played tonight.”
Washington State took an early lead in the 14th minute after the Cougars took advantage of an errant pass to the WVU backline. WSU’s Makamae Gomera-Stevens took the free ball at the top of the penalty area and fired a shot that landed in the top-right corner of the net to give the Cougars a 1-0 advantage.
WVU thought it found the equalizer in the 37th minute as sophomore Alina Stahl broke through the Cougars’ defense and put a ball in the back of the net. However, it was determined that Stahl was offsides and the score remained 1-0.
The Mountaineers led the Cougars 6-3 in corners through the opening 45 minutes, while WSU outshot West Virginia 5-3.
WVU opened the second half fast as freshman forward Enzi Broussard and senior midfielder Jessica Lisi tallied a shot each in the opening minutes of the second half. WVU’s attack continued in the 54th minute as senior forward Jade Gentile put a shot on net that was corralled by Washington State’s Ella Dederick.
The Mountaineers regained possession following a clearance from WSU and Broussard fired a shot from just outside the top of the box that went wide left.
The Cougars doubled the lead in the 64th minute as WSU sent in a lofted pass that went over the WVU defense and found Washington State’s Morgan Weaver. Weaver fired a shot from the top-left corner of the box that snuck just inside the far post. Weaver struck again in the 70th minute with a shot low ball that fell into the left corner of the net.
West Virginia (12-8-2) continued to attack following the goal, but put just one shot on the board for the final 20 minutes of action.
“I’m proud of this run and I’m super proud of this team,” Izzo-Brown continued. “This is a young team that’s faced a lot of adversity throughout the season and they never gave up. It’s been an incredible run.”
