MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia women’s soccer team earned a 4-1 win over Kansas State in the 2020 home opener Friday at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
The Mountaineers received a pair of goals from sophomore forward Enzi Broussard, while sophomore defenders Nicole Payne and Julianne Vallerand also found the back of the net.
In all, West Virginia (2-0, 2-0 Big 12) outshot the Wildcats, 17-4, in the win, including 12-2 in shots on goal.
“It’s easy to go up 10 minutes into a game, but how is this team going to respond when you go down 10 minutes into the game,” WVU coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “I was really proud with how this team responded. They got their mindset right and just continued to do their job. I thought we did a really good job responding.”
K-State (0-2, 0-2 Big 12) took an early lead in the seventh minute on an empty-net goal following a loose-ball scramble. From there, though, the Mountaineers went on to score four unanswered tallies.
In the 11th minute, Broussard scored her first of the night off an assist from senior midfielder Stefany Ferrer-vanGinkel. Broussard beat the KSU keeper to the far post to even the score at 1-1.
Later in the half, Payne rifled a shot off the crossbar and into the net in the 13th minute, giving WVU the lead. Vallerand tallied the assist on the eventual game-winner.
The Mountaineers led 2-1 after 45 minutes.
In the second half, Broussard was at it again, finishing in front of the goal after a solid entry from redshirt junior forward Lauren Segalla in the 54th minute. It marked Broussard’s first career multi-goal performance.
Vallerand capped the night for West Virginia with highlight-reel goal in the 68th minute to make it 4-1. Following a pass from junior defender Jordan Brewster, Vallerand dazzled through the box before finishing with her first goal of the campaign.
Broussard led the way with four shots in the victory, as WVU improved to 13-3-1 in home openers at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, as well as 29-4-2 against Big 12 foes since entering the conference in 2012.
With the win, the Mountaineers also moved to 4-0 all-time against K-State.
In goal, junior goalkeeper Maddie Murphy earned her second win of the year. The Grafton, Mass., native finished with one save.
Up next, WVU returns to the road to take on Oklahoma State on Sept. 25. Kickoff at Neal Patterson Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., is set for 8 p.m.
Tweet @dompostsports
