Women's Soccer Suffers 1-0 Loss at West Virginia
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 5 Virginia women’s soccer team suffered its first loss of the season, falling 1-0 at West Virginia on Sunday. Mallory Smith’s goal against the run of play in the 83rd minute gave the Mountaineers the upset victory. Virginia fell to 6-1-1 on the season, while West Virginia improved to 4-3-0.
“This is always a tough place to play,” said Virginia head coach Steve Swanson. “I thought they sat back and waited for that one opportunity, and they finished it. We had numerous chances in the second half to take control of the game, but couldn’t do it. When you don’t convert those chances, you leave yourself open to a team that can take advantage of their one shot. Give credit to West Virginia for the win, but these kind of losses are disappointing for sure.”
For the third consecutive game, the Cavaliers were scoreless at the half. They dominated play in the second half, but couldn’t take advantage of numerous chances. In the 54th minute, a shot by Sinead Farrelly (Havertown, Pa.) was saved off the line by a defender. Six minutes later, a header by Meghan Lenczyk (McLean, Va.) went through the hands of the keeper, only to be saved off the line by a defender. In the 71st minute, Lindsey Miller’s (Nashua, N.H.) blast from the top of the box rattled off the post. The Mountaineers almost gave Virginia the lead in the 75th minute, when a goalkeeper clearance went off a defender’s head and trickled just wide of being an own goal. On the ensuing corner kick, Julia Roberts’ (Frederick, Md.) point-blank shot beat the keeper, but was saved off the line by a defender. At the other end, West Virginia took advantage of their only scoring chance of the half in the 83rd minute, when a ball in the box fell to Smith, who poked home her third goal of the season.
Overall, Virginia outshot West Virginia 14-5 and had a 5-3 corner kick advantage. Chantel Jones (Midlothian, Va.) made one save for the Cavaliers. The Mountaineers made six saves, three by goalkeeper Kerri Butler and three by defenders on the goalline.
The Cavaliers open ACC play on Thursday as they visit intrastate rival Virginia Tech. Game time in Blacksburg is 7 p.m.
West Virginia 1, No. 5 Virginia 0
#5 Virginia (6-1-1) 0 0 – 0
West Virginia (4-3-0) 0 1 – 1
Scoring Summary:
WVU. Mallory Smith 3 (unassisted) 83′
Shots: UVa 14, WVU 5
Corners: UVa 5, WVU 3
Saves: UVa 1 (Jones 1), WVU 6 (Butler 3, Team 3)
Fouls: UVa 9, WVU 2
Offsides: UVa 3, WVU 0
Attendance: 1376