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Mountaineers struggle to find back of the net in title game

By SAM HACKE

For The Dominion Post

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Defense was a hallmark of the WVU women’s soccer team this season — and in a way, it still was in the Mountaineers’ 3-1 loss to USC in Dec. 4’s Women’s College Cup final at Avaya Stadium.

The difference this time, though, was that the best defense had to be a good offense — and though the Mountaineers’ offense was good, it wasn’t quite good enough.

WVU (23-2-2) had to go on the offensive after giving up a goal less than two minutes into the game. That was a hard pill to swallow for a team that had shut out 18 opponents, including every team it faced in Big 12 play.

“After that goal, we had to collect ourselves and really push forward,” junior midfielder Ashley Lawrence said.

WVU did that fairly well, especially in the first half. The Mountaineers outshot USC, 10-3, before the intermission.

The Mountaineers’ best first-half chance came in the 31st minute. Sophomore forward Grace Cutler — who transferred to WVU from Santa Clara, a stone’s throw away from Avaya Stadium — was in front of the net with a wide-open shot. However, USC goalkeeper Sammy Jo Prudhomme dove from the left side and gathered it in to preserve the Trojans’ lead.

Sh’Nia Gordon also nearly scored for the Mountaineers in the first half. With no one between her and the goal in the 26th minute, the sophomore forward dribbled the ball toward the left side and blasted the ball off her left foot. Prudhomme dove and punched it away.

Prudhomme continued to make spectacular saves for USC in the second half. WVU did not break through until the 61st minute, when Lawrence sent a feed from sophomore defender Easther Mayi Kith into the left side of the goal from about 20 yards out.

After USC scored the go-ahead goal in the 74th minute, junior defender Amandine Pierre-Louis had three quality chances to score for WVU. The first one went wide to the right, and the next two went right to Prudhomme.

Ultimately, WVU outshot USC, 21-8. However, the fact that the Trojans scored on three of those shots in the Mountaineers’ biggest game of the season does sting quite a bit.

“I’m not gonna lie — It’s pretty disappointing because we haven’t given up a lot of goals,” said sophomore defender Bianca St. Georges. “But we can’t focus on one game. We’ve got to focus on what our defense has done throughout the year.”

WVU center back Kadeisha Buchanan was named the College Cup’s Most Outstanding Player on Defense. USC forward Katie Morgan, who scored two second-half goals against WVU and the Trojans’ only goal in their semifinal win over Georgetown, was named Most Outstanding Player on Offense.

Also named to the all-tournament team from WVU a were Lawrence, sophomore goalkeeper Sh’Nia Gordon and freshman goalkeeper Rylee Foster.

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