MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia women’s soccer team opened the 2020 season with a 2-0 win at Iowa State on Friday night in Ames, Iowa.
The Mountaineers received goals from senior midfielder Stefany Ferrer-vanGinkel and junior forward Alina Stahl in the win. Defensively, WVU held the Cyclones to just two shots on the goal to help claim the shutout victory.
“First of all, just to get to this point with all the sacrifice and hard work that the players and staff had to go through was incredible,” WVU coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “It was surreal to finally get out there and just be focused on 90 minutes of soccer. I was just so proud to be able to finish and for all the people that got us here tonight.”
Ferrer-vanGinkel opened the scoring in the 13th minute when she found the back of the net following an ISU foul. Junior midfielder Isabella Sibley earned the assist on WVU’s first shot attempt – and goal – of the year.
Later, Sibley nearly doubled the West Virginia (1-0, 1-0 Big 12) lead with a shot of her own, but it was denied by the ISU keeper to keep it a 1-0 contest. West Virginia finished with a 7-2 advantage in shots on goal.
In the 34th minute, junior goalkeeper Maddie Murphy, who was one of four Mountaineers to make their WVU debut on Friday, was needed for the first time. She stopped an Iowa State (0-1, 0-1 Big 12) shot from the top of the box for her first of two saves on the night.
WVU led 1-0 after 45 minutes.
Murphy stepped up again at the start of the second half, pushing a shot attempt aside in the 49th minute. A few minutes later, WVU earned its first two corner kicks but couldn’t register a shot inside the ISU box, before sophomore defender Julianne Vallerand’s attempt was saved in the 61st minute.
West Virginia nearly scored again in the 72nd minute when a frenzy in front of the goal resulted in a shot by sophomore midfielder Aaliyah Scott that was cleared off the line by an ISU defender. Still, the lead remained one entering the final stretch of the fixture.
Stahl’s insurance goal came in the 84th minute, when she beat the Cyclone keeper to the near low post. Scott grabbed the assist as West Virginia carried the two-goal lead to the finish line.
“It was a total team effort,” Izzo-Brown said. “We have incredible depth this year, but without seeing us with another opponent, it was a great opportunity to show the girls how much rotation and pressure we can put on the ball. I was really pleased with how everyone performed and did their job to get the win.”
With the win, WVU improved to 9-0 all-time against the Cyclones, as well as 8-0-1 in Big 12 openers. The Mountaineers have now scored multiple goals in all nine matchups against Iowa State. The squad also shut out ISU for the eighth consecutive meeting, dating back to a 3-2 win on Oct. 7, 2012. Since then, the Mountaineers have held Iowa State without a goal for 725 straight minutes.
WVU and ISU finished with eight shots apiece, while the Mountaineers earned six corner kicks to the Cyclones’ four.
Next up, West Virginia returns to Morgantown to take on Kansas State in the 2020 home opener Sept. 18. Kickoff at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium is set for 7 p.m.
