LUBBOCK, Texas — No. 3 West Virginia scored three second-half goals and blocked two point-blank shots to pull away from No. 13 Texas Tech for a 4-1 win Sunday in women’s soccer action.
Returning to the site of their only Big 12 loss back in 2013, the Mountaineers (12-1-1, 3-0-1) led 17-9 in shots and became the first team this season to score more than two goals against Texas Tech.
West Virginia also found some offense after struggling to a scoreless draw at Oklahoma on Friday night.
“This was such a tough weekend for us,” said Mountaineers coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “We went into double-overtime at Oklahoma Friday night and then played in a tough venue today, and we earned points in both matches. This is huge for us. I’m so proud of this team. Our players were uncomfortable at times, but they found a way to do their jobs.”
WVU led 1-0 in the 49th minute before Carla Portillo sent a cross to Nia Gordon, who split two defenders and placed a shot inside the right post.
Texas Tech (8-2-4, 1-1-2), unbeaten at home since last October, closed within 2-1 in the 71st minute on Alli Murphy’s goal off a corner set.
The Red Raiders nearly evened the score in the 75th minute, but Hannah Steadman made the save on a bouncing shot from Carly Wickenheiser inside the goal mouth.
“I thought at 2-1 we had all of the momentum,” said Texas Tech coach Tom Stone. “We had a really good chance with 14 minutes to go to equalize. Obviously this was a pretty good X-ray of the strengths and weaknesses on our part.”
West Virginia’s Pierre-Louis put the match out of reach in the 76th minute on a breakaway goal. Desperate to find an offensive spark, the Red Raiders threw numbers into the front line, which allowed the Mountaineers to counter. Michaela Abam’s team-best ninth goal of the season iced the match with seven minutes remaining.
“You have to give full credit to West Virginia, they were rebounding nicely from a pretty frustrating tie at Oklahoma on Friday night and we got their best performance.”
The Mountaineers struck first in the 28th minute when Ashley Lawrence sent a ball in to Leah Emaus, who took one touch and scored her first goal of the season.