INSTITUTE -- The West Virginia State University women's soccer team picked up its first home win of the season, 2-1 over Mountain East Conference opponent Concord University. Maria Alejandra Hernandez Diaz scored the match-winning goal in the 52nd minute after Jazz Cedillo opened the scoring in the first half.
The win moves the Yellow Jackets to 2-2-2 on the season with a 2-1-1 mark in conference play. Concord falls to 1-5 overall and 1-2 in MEC action.
The first scoring chance of the match came from WVSU as Sara Paris Filter put a shot on target that was saved by the Mountain Lions goalkeeper. After a Concord attempt forced Celina Seggelmann to make a save moments later, Itzel Nunez generated the next scoring opportunity off a WVSU corner kick, but her effort was turned away.
The Yellow Jackets broke through in the 29th minute when Cedillo converted off a pass from Danni Watson to give WVSU a 1-0 lead. Both teams created opportunities in the 32nd minute, but stellar goalkeeping kept the match at 1-0. WVSU generated a pair of chances in the 39th minute as Cali Questel took a shot that was saved before Leila Karam missed on the rebound attempt.
The Yellow Jackets launched a flurry of second-half chances as Kaylee Smith had a shot blocked to yield a WVSU corner kick. After a Nunez attempt sailed high, Karam forced a save from the Concord keeper. Seggelmann came through with another save minutes later to preserve the clean sheet.
In the 52nd minute, Hernandez Diaz struck off a pass from Karam to extend the WVSU lead to 2-0. Seventeen minutes later, the Mountain Lions broke through to trim the deficit to 2-1 with 21 minutes to play.
Concord managed just one shot on goal the rest of the way, which Seggelmann turned away. The Mountain Lions had a pair of late attempts blocked by the WVSU defense before a final shot in the closing seconds missed high left.
WVSU returns to action Sunday, continuing MEC play on the road against West Virginia Wesleyan. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
