ELKINS, W.Va. -- The West Virginia State University women's soccer team was narrowly defeated by Davis & Elkins, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon. West Virginia State held the lead once and tied the score once before ultimately being upended by the Senators.

WVSU drops to 9-4-1 on the season and 8-3-1 in the Mountain East Conference with the loss while D&E jumps to 6-7 overall and 6-6 in the MEC with the win.

Senior midfielder Brooklyn Pritt had two assists as the best provider of service for the Yellow Jackets. Senior forwards Fran Soares-Cupertino and Karem Rodrigues each added a goal to their season totals. This was their 11th and third goals of the season, respectively. Meanwhile, junior midfielder Naomi Waithira scored her fourth goal of the 2021 campaign.

The Yellow Jackets scored in the first minute to shock the Senators right out of the gate. Brooklyn Pritt was given plenty of space to launch a midrange aerial pass to Fran Soares-Cupertino who was on a run towards goal. Soares-Cupertino chested the ball down and then lifted it into the top left corner of the net from just inside the 18-yard box, 1-0.

Davis & Elkins leveled the score in the 33rd minute with a shot from distance that was undeniable. Sachiko Gamo winded up from an unsuspecting position before striking the ball so that it floated over a backstepping Laura Galindo and dipped just under the crossbar, 1-1.

By the end of the first half, WVSU was caught offside five times while attempting to time runs past the defensive line of D&E. The Senators were only called offside once and fired off nine shots in their attempt to go forward. Only four of those shots were on goal, however. On the other hand, West Virginia State only took three shots in the opening half but all three were on target.

Davis & Elkins gained the upper hand in the 61st minute with a go-ahead goal. The ball was stolen off a State defender's feet not too far from goal and then cannoned into the back of the net, 2-1.

Five minutes later, the Yellow Jackets were back on level terms. Pritt once again delivered the ball that led to the goal. This time she sent a cross in to Karem Rodrigues who headed it from outside the six-yard box and beat the keeper, 2-2.

The jubilation was short lived with D&E's Lisa Milliken scoring within a minute of State's match-tying goal, 3-2. Milliken followed up her first goal of the contest with a second just one minute later, 4-2. The two quick goals from Milliken left West Virginia State with 22 minutes to salvage a point from the game.

The Yellow Jackets got one goal back when they scored in the 81st minute. The ball bounced around the 18-yard box before Naomi Waithira collected it, dribbled through multiple defenders, and coolly slotted the shot into the bottom right corner of the netting, 4-3.

In the last nine minutes, WVSU was unable to create any chances with the Senators sitting back in defense. All three points subsequently went to Davis & Elkins when the final horn blew.

West Virginia State will have a chance to get back in the win column when they face West Virginia Wesleyan at home on Wednesday, Oct. 27th. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. under the lights of Lakin-Ray Field at Dickerson Stadium.