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West Virginia State University Athletics

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WSOC23 Team MEC SF
Photo: Todd Griffith
0
West Virginia St. WVS (11-6-3, 9-3-3)
1
Winner Charleston (WV) CHA (17-0-3, 13-0-2)
West Virginia St. WVS
(11-6-3, 9-3-3)
0
Final
1
Charleston (WV) CHA
(17-0-3, 13-0-2)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 OT 2 F
West Virginia St. WVS 0 0 0 0 0
Charleston (WV) CHA 0 0 1 0 1

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

State bows out in semifinals of MEC Tournament with 1-0 overtime defeat to No. 5 UC

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – West Virginia State women's soccer (11-6-3, 9-3-3 MEC) suffered a 1-0 defeat to nationally-ranked No. 5 Charleston (17-0-3, 13-0-2 MEC) in the semifinals of the Mountain East Conference Tournament on Wednesday evening at the Welch Athletic Complex. The Yellow Jackets forced overtime before finally conceding a goal to the Golden Eagles.

Goalkeeper Laura Galindo was the star of the first half. She faced six shots from the Golden Eagles and made four quality saves to keep them off the scoreboard.

Charleston's Carina Widauer received a low cross in the 33rd minute for the best goal-scoring opportunity of the first half. She had a clear shot at goal from inside the 18-yard box but was denied by Galindo diving to her right for a spectacular save.

Midfielder Yasmin Evans took State's only chance in the first 45 minutes. Her shot hit off the top of the woodwork in the 38th minute.

The first shot on goal in the second half did not come until the 85th minute. After a yellow card was issued to a UC player, captain Alba Closa lined up for a free kick in a promising position. Her shot was aimed directly at the opposing keeper for a routine save. The Golden Eagles were able to counter effectively after the save, but State managed to chase the lead attacker down to force an errant shot.

Charleston hit the crossbar with less than two minutes left for the last good chance in regulation.  

In the first overtime period, the Golden Eagles finally beat Galindo in the 94th minute. A cross found its way to Michelle Wenger in a favorable position. She took a low shot with not much distance between her and the net to find the breakthrough goal, 1-0.

UC packed it in during the second overtime period to make State's job of finding an equalizer extremely difficult. An opportunity for WVSU to send the match to penalty kicks finally came in the 107th minute. Winger Ellise Rennie managed to slip through the Golden Eagle defense but had her shot saved by Jordan Maynard.

West Virginia State broke into the NCAA Atlantic Region rankings for the first time this week at the No. 9 spot. Unfortunately, the Yellow Jackets would have needed to win against Charleston for a chance to make regionals without winning the tournament. They can still hold their heads high after a season filled with great performances under first-year Head Coach Brandon Slewa.
 
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