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West Virginia State University Athletics

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WSOC21 Team
0
West Virginia St. WVSU (10-7-1, 9-5-1)
2
Winner Charleston (WV) CHA (15-4-0, 13-3-0)
West Virginia St. WVSU
(10-7-1, 9-5-1)
0
Final
2
Charleston (WV) CHA
(15-4-0, 13-3-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
West Virginia St. WVSU 0 0 0
Charleston (WV) CHA 1 1 2

Game Recap: Women's Soccer | | James Garcia, Sports Information Director

WVSU exits MEC Championship with a 2-0 defeat to UC in quarterfinals

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The West Virginia State University women's soccer team made its first-ever postseason appearance on Tuesday evening in the quarterfinals of the Mountain East Conference Championship. West Virginia State was defeated by Charleston, 2-0, at the Welch Athletic Complex.

The Golden Eagles were the more offensive side in the first half, but not by much. UC fired off eight shots in the first 45 minutes compared to five shots by WVSU. Each team directed three shots on goal.

The Yellow Jackets played aggressively in the opening ten minutes. They were charged with three fouls in that span and handed a yellow card. Defender Delaney Day was booked to put West Virginia State in a precarious position early on.

Five shots were taken by Charleston in the first seventeen minutes of action without a response from West Virginia State. Shortly thereafter, Fran Soares-Cupertino took three shots within a minute. Two of her shots were saved while one was blocked.

Then in the 22nd minute, Charleston scored on a long free kick that was taken close to midfield. The ball was sent into the 18-yard box and headed backwards by a State defender. Charleston's Sydney Cavender got on the end of the deflected long ball and flicked it with her head towards goal. Cavender got just enough on the ball to send it over a charging Laura Galindo and into the net.

In the remaining 23 minutes of the first half, the Yellow Jackets only managed two more shots. Ingrid Barbosa de Castro's shot in the 31st minute was saved while Soares-Cupertino's shot in the 43rd minute flew over the crossbar. 

Karem Rodrigues was booked on a yellow card in the 44th minute to become the second Yellow Jacket to be threatened with being sent off. West Virginia State went into halftime down by one goal, 1-0.

West Virginia State's attack was stifled further in the second half. The Yellow Jackets were only able to take two shots in the last 45 minutes with one on target. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles kept getting forward with eight shots taken and three shots on goal. 

Charleston scored six minutes after the second half whistle blew with another long free kick sent into the 18-yard box. This time, the long ball was flicked towards goal off the head of a Golden Eagle. Keira Hill snuck past State's defenders and redirected the ball to the right of a diving Galindo with a feint touch. The shot trickled over the goalline to increase the deficit to two goals, 2-0.

For the remaining 39 minutes of the contest, WVSU created two promising chances in an effort to tie the score. The first was a shot taken by Soares-Cupertino in the 68th minute that required a save to be made by the opposing keeper. The second was a shot taken by Naomi Waithira in the 71st minute that missed the mark wide to the left.

Without being able to create any more chances, West Virginia State missed the opportunity to advance to the semifinals of the MEC Tournament. Nevertheless, the Yellow Jackets left the pitch for the last time this season knowing how far they came since the spring.

WVSU finished the 2021 fall campaign with an overall record of 11-7-1 and a conference record of 10-5-1. The 31 points picked up in league play was good enough for third place in the South Division at the conclusion of the regular season. In the spring, WVSU finished with eight points in the league standings after going 2-4-2 against in-conference opponents.

 
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