ELKINS, W.Va. — WVSU's women's soccer team scored five goals in the second half of their road match against the Davis & Elkins Senators en route to a convincing 9-3 victory. The Jackets were aided by a 22nd minute red card issued to D&E's starting goalie Katie Clarke and the school-record-setting four goal effort by Esther Dhiramo.

POST GAME RECORDS

WVSU: 5-0 (3-0 MEC)

D&E: 2-2 (1-2 MEC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

WVSU got off to a rapid start with Dhiramo scoring her first of the match with an assist from Fran Soares-Cupertino just 41 seconds in. 

Davis & Elkins didn't allow the lead to last for very long. Maria Leguizamon scored her only goal of the match off of a Senators corner kick. The Senators took the lead in the 10th minute with another goal off of a corner kick, this one by Alexa Karsel. 

The Senator lead lasted under two minutes when Soares-Cupertino put away her first in the 12th minute. Dhiramo added her second paired with an assist from Ingrid Barbosa de Castro in the 14th minute. Karsel added a third Senator goal in the 18th minute to tie the match at three.

In the 22nd minute, Clarke was dismissed for denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity when she mishandled the ball and pulled down Dhiramo inside the penalty area. Dhiramo's penalty was saved by the replacement goalie.

The Jackets added one more in the 39th minute, courtesy of Dhiramo to complete the hat trick.

When the smoke cleared at the halftime whistle, the Yellow Jackets held on to a slim 4-3 lead.

State exploded in the second half, putting five goals on the scoreboard, all by different Yellow Jackets. Montserrat Alsina pocketed one 47 seconds into the second half with some help from Soares-Cupertino. Dhiramo added her fourth and final goal of the afternoon in the 52nd minute with an assist by Soares-Cupertino, her third and final assist of the afternoon. Maria Amaral added an unassisted score in the 71st minute. Brooklyn Pritt had some help on her goal by Dhiramo in the 74th minute and Soares-Cupertino put the final goal on the scoresheet in the 82nd minute.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

WVSU set or matched numerous records during the match. Esther Dhiramo set a new school mark for goals in a single match with four plus she added an assist to her stat line. Dhiramo's hat trick was the first for State since Naomi Waithira put a three goal game together in 2020. Fran Soares-Cupertino set a new school mark for assists in a single game. She had two goals and three assists. 

Laura Galindo faced nine shots, made two saves and allowed three goals. She didn't allow a goal in the second half. 

Davis & Elkins was led by Alexa Karsel with two goals on three shots. Danielle Grimmer had two helpers. Katie Clarke allowed three goals and made one save in her 21 minutes prior to being dismissed from the match. 

SPINNING RECORDS

A total of four records were broken or matched in tonight's match. The two individual records by Dhiramo and Soares-Cupertino, plus the two teams matched an MEC record for most goals in one half of a conference match (7), WVSU set a school record for most goals scored in one match (9), and the 12 total goals scored in the match is the second-most in the MEC.

UP NEXT

The Yellow Jackets take control of the South Division but will put it on the line with a three-game home stand starting with a Sunday night match against the Bobcats of West Virginia Wesleyan. Kick-off for the match is scheduled for 6:00 pm and live stats and live video will be available.