WVU Men's Soccer Falls to Wisconsin-Green Bay, 2-1
AKRON, Ohio (September 7, 2008) – In its second and final game of the
University of Akron Classic, the West Virginia University men’s soccer
team fell to Wisconsin-Green Bay, 2-1, Sunday afternoon at Lee Jackson
Field.
The Mountaineers (0-3-1), who were down 2-0 at halftime to the Phoenix
(1-3-0), made strides in the second half for a rally.
Less than 20 minutes into the second half, WVU found the back of the net
through sophomore Paul Paradise. At the 68:46 mark, Paradise struck a
ball from 20 yards out past Green Bay goalkeeper Adam Stikl in the
upper-right corner of the net.
The Mountaineers continued to put pressure on the Phoenix late in the
game, tallying three corner kicks and four shots in the second half.
Paradise registered a team-high three shots, two on-goal, in the
contest. Fellow sophomore Zach Johnson made his fourth-straight start
between the posts for the Mountaineers, making five saves in the match.
Each of Green Bay’s two goals came courtesy of JC Banks, off corner
kicks from David Prochazka, in the first half.
Following the game, freshmen Raymon Gaddis and Alex Silva were named to
the all-tournament team.
The Mountaineers return home for their next game on Saturday, Sept. 13.
Kickoff against St. Francis (Pa.) is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Dick Dlesk
Soccer Stadium.
Women’s Soccer: Double Overtime Draw
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.(September 7, 2008)– After 110 minutes of soccer, the
13th-ranked West Virginia women’s soccer team played to a 1-1 draw with
Washington State Sunday morning in Regal Soccer Stadium at the First
Tennessee Lady Vols Classic.
West Virginialed 1-0 after 54 minutes of action before Washington State
tied the match with a goal from Elysse Van Leer. Van Leer kicked the
ball out of the hands of WVU goalkeeper Kerri Butler for the score. A
West Virginia foul set up a Cougar free kick from 30-yards out on the
left side, leading to the scramble in the box.
“I have to give Washington State credit for battling hard,” Head Coach
Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “And while you never want to leave a game in the
hands of a referee, Kerri got robbed today. And so did this team.”
West Virginiamore than doubled Washington State’s shot total but
struggled to find the back of the net in its second overtime contest of
the season.
“We had plenty of chances so the referee didn’t completely determine
the game,” Izzo-Brown added. “We have learned our lesson and understand
that it can happen. We just have to finish the opportunities we had and
take him out of the equation.”
Senior Deana Everrett notched her second goal of the season less than
three minutes into the second half to put the Mountaineers on top 1-0.
Freshman Morgan Betscher served a ball into the box from the right flank
where Everrett one-timed the ball into the lower right corner for the
score.
WVU fired a series of shots with under two minutes to play in
regulation from Everrett, Greer Barnes, Carolyn Blank, Amanda Cicchini.
Two attempts were saved and the other two deflected in the scurry.
The Mountaineers had a solid opportunity early in the first overtime as
Cicchini was taken down in the box and no call was made resulting in a
quick counter from Washington State. The Cougars quickly moved the ball
up field where Kiersten Dallstream had a breakaway but a charging Butler
off her line forced the shot wide right.
The Mountaineers controlled possession for much of the first half but
could not generate many scoring chances against a stingy Cougar defense.
The first West Virginia shot came 28 minutes in on a rocket from
sophomore Megan Mischler. Mischler took a shot from 30-yards out,
forcing a punch save off the crossbar by Washington State goalkeeper
Lindsay Parlee.
WVU attempted four shots in the opening 45 minutes and finished the
match with 23 attempts. Everrett took a game-best six shots on the
afternoon. Goalkeeper Kerri Butler made three saves on 10 Washington
State shots.
An All-Tournament Team will be announced following game two on Sunday
of the First Tennessee Lady Vols Classic. Host Tennessee will play
Illinois at 2 p.m.
The Mountaineers have a short week with a quick turnaround for a match
with Kentucky on Thursday, Sept. 11. Kickoff at Dick Dlesk Soccer
Stadium is scheduled for 8 p.m. and will be broadcasted live on the Fox
Soccer Channel.
Late Goal Lifts WVU At Tennessee
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (September 5, 2008)– Freshman Blake Miller’s first
collegiate goal was the difference as 13th-ranked West Virginia defeated
20th-ranked Tennessee, 1-0, Friday night in Regal Soccer Stadium at the
First Tennessee Lady Vols Classic.
At 80:46, Miller worked her magic inside the box, receiving a nice pass
from Erica Henderson. Miller worked her way around two Volunteer
defenders and fired a shot into the far upper 90 for the game-winner.
“Erica played a nice ball to me and I made one move and saw an opening,”
said Miller. “I was able to finish the opportunity and can hopefully
find the back of the net again on Sunday.”
Henderson and Miller combined for 42 minutes off the bench in the road
victory, including a second half spark from Henderson at the striker
position.
“Erica is such a versatile player for us and she did a great job
tonight. She came in and worked hard,” said Head Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown.
“She set up the goal by creating an opportunity and serving a nice ball
to Blake. I’m proud of those two freshmen. Their play was so critical in
an important game for us.”
Sophomore Goalkeeper Kerri Butler preserved the shutout in the final
minute with a punch save on a Tennessee corner kick. Butler finished
with three saves in her third shutout of the year.
Possession went back and forth throughout the match with both teams
trading scoring chances. West Virginia held a 12-10 shot advantage while
Tennessee took five more corner kicks than WVU.
The Lady Vols wasted no time putting together the match’s first scoring
opportunity five minutes into the contest. All-America forward Kylee
Rossi took a shot from 16-yards out as WVU’s Kelsey Fowler made a team
save in front of the goal to prevent an early score.
Fowler was excellent tonight, both in her ball distribution and keeping
the back line organized. The senior limited Rossi to only two shots on
the night.
“Kelsey was brilliant out there,” Izzo-Brown said. “She won a lot of
balls, was a great leader and kept our defense together. She stepped up
her game tonight.”
Eight different Mountaineers registered at least one shot, led by
senior Greer Barnes’ three-shot night.
West Virginiaattempted seven first-half shots, none more dangerous than
senior Deana Everrett’s shot from 8-yards out in the 14th minute. The
forward fired a shot low and a sliding Jaimel Johnson came up with a UT
save.
“It’s a great win any time you beat a team like Tennessee,” Izzo-Brown.
said “They are a tough team and provide a tough environment to play in.
We made some second half adjustments that paid off and I’m very proud of
the effort our ladies gave.”
West Virginiaimproves to 3-1-0 on the season and Tennessee dips to
1-3-0.
The Mountaineers return to action Sunday morning against Washington
State for game two of the First Tennessee Lady Vols Classic. Kickoff at
Regal Soccer Stadium is slated for 11:30 a.m.
WVU Men's Soccer Edged by No. 5 Akron, 1-0
AKRON, Ohio (September 5, 2008) – The West Virginia University men’s
soccer team dropped a close 1-0 decision No. 5 Akron, Friday night, in
both teams’ first match in the University of Akron Classic at Lee
Jackson Field. The Mountaineers fall to 0-2-1 on the season, while the
Zips improve to 2-0-1.
The WVU defense gave the offensively-powerful Zips problems all night.
The Zips only were able to take three shots on-goal and after Akron’s
lone goal at the 26:11 mark by Steve Zakuani, the Mountaineers played
shutout defense. Sophomore goalkeeper Zach Johnson had two saves while
junior Jason Bristol and freshman Raymon Gaddis played all 90 minutes on
the back line in the game.
Junior Mo Travis and freshman Declan Coll each had a shot on-goal and
the Mountaineers recorded three corner kicks in the contest.
WVU returns to the field on Sunday, Sept. 7, for its final match in the
University of Akron Classic against Wisconsin-Green Bay, who is 0-3-0 on
the season. Kickoff is slated for noon.
Women's Soccer: Freshmen Nets Game-Winner At UT
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (September 5, 2008) – Freshman Blake Miller’s
first collegiate goal was the difference as 13th-ranked West Virginia
defeated 20th-ranked Tennessee Friday night in Regal Soccer Stadium at
the First Tennessee Lady Vols Classic.
At 80:46, Miller worked her magic inside the box, working her way
around two Vols and firing a shot into the upper 90 far post for the
game-winner.
Goalkeeper Kerri Butler preserved the shutout in the final minute with
a punch save on a Tennessee corner kick. Butler finished with three
saves in her third shutout of the year.
Eight different Mountaineers registered at least one shot, led by
senior Greer Barnes’ three-shot night.
WVU out-shot the Volunteers 12-10 on the night to improve to 3-1-0 and
UT dips to 1-3-0.
The Mountaineers return to action Sunday morning against Washington
State for game two of the First Tennessee Lady Vols Classic. Kickoff at
Regal Soccer Stadium is slated for 11:30 a.m.
A full recap to come on MSNsportsNET.com.
