INSTITUTE, W.Va. — The West Virginia State University women's soccer program opened the 2022 season with an emphatic 3-1 victory against a University of Indianapolis team that only allowed 18 goals all season last year. The Greyhounds received votes in the United Soccer Coaches Division II Preseason Poll, making the decisive win at Lakin-Ray Field on a scorching hot Sunday afternoon that much more promising for what is to come from this WVSU squad.   

Postgame records:
WVSU: 1-0
UINDY: 0-1-1

How it happened:
The Yellow Jackets got their first opportunity in the fourth minute of the contest after the Greyhounds were called for a foul 30 yards from goal. Fran Soares-Cupertino set up for the free kick and fired it in between two of the defenders in the three-person wall, burying it for the first goal of the season.
 
State was then given another set-piece opportunity with a corner kick in the 30th minute. The ball flew into the penalty area and was headed to Esther Dhiramo who slipped it past the goalkeeper for the Yellow Jackets' second goal of the match. The 2-0 lead stood through the end of the first half.

The Greyhounds had a great opportunity in the 55th minute when State's Cierra Savin was called for a foul inside the penalty area, but the penalty kick from Kiki Sauceda hit the left goalpost and the follow-up by the Greyhounds went wide right.
 
In the 61st minute, State was able to develop a counterattack with 1-2 passes between Soares-Cupertino and Dhiramo while Brooklyn Pritt charged ahead and tried to break free. Pritt eventually got in behind the Greyhound defense, took a pass from Soares-Cupertino and fired off a shot from the top of the penalty area that hit the crossbar. The rebound went over the goalkeeper's head to Soares-Cupertino who then headed it into the goal to give State the 3-0 lead with under 30 minutes to play.

Six minutes later, UINDY was able to slip one past goalkeeper Laura Galindo, but couldn't manage to get any more shots for the rest of the game. The match ended with a 3-1 scoreline in favor of WVSU that will surely set the tone for the rest of the 2022 campaign.

Inside the numbers:
Soares-Cupertino fired four shots, putting three on target and scored twice. Dhiramo fired twice, netting her only shot on goal. Pritt also took three shots with two on target, both of which were saved by the Greyhounds. 

The Greyhounds's only shot on goal came from Maria Herrero, which she scored. UINDY's leading scorer last year, Kiki Sauceda only managed one shot which dinked off the left goalpost.

WVSU took 10 shots, seven of them on goal. UINDY was only able to get four shots off and only one was on target. 

Up next:
The Yellow Jackets look to build off of the momentum with a trip to the 0-1 Lady Bears of Shaw University on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.