MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia women’s soccer team is headed to the final four.
The No. 1 Mountaineers held off fifth-ranked Duke 1-0 on Saturday to earn a berth in the College Cup.
“It’s surreal,” said coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “My whole thing was, I just didn’t want this to stop. For me, it’s an incredible moment because I get to extend my time with this team. It’s a special team. It’s exciting. It’s another first, and it’s more about the opportunity to coach a team I’m so proud of.”
West Virginia (22-1-2) scored its only goal in the 16th minute thanks to Ali Magaletta.
Michaela Abam placed a corner kick in the box, and Kadeisha Buchanan headed it toward the net. With her back to the goal line, Magaletta kicked the ball toward the near left post for her third score of the season.
“Keish did a lot of the dirty work on that goal,” Magaletta said. “She got the header, and I just happened to be on the line to tip it in. It was a great moment.”
Duke (15-5-3) kept the pressure on the second half, including nine corner kicks, but WVU goalkeeper Rylee Foster made five saves, including a point-blank shot by Toni Payne in the 58th minute.
The Blue Devils, last season’s NCAA runners-up, also had two shots bounce off the crossbar while outshooting the favorites 11-3 in the second half.
“Duke put all sorts of pressure on us,” Izzo-Brown said. “I felt like that was a final four game. It’s just unfortunate we had to settle it before the final four.”
Duke coach Robbie Church knew his team came within inches of equalizing the game several times.
“I thought we played well and obviously stats speak for where we really dominated in the second half,” Church said.
“We felt it was going to be a very close game obviously because defensively they’re so athletic. It’s pretty amazing how athletic. I’ve been in this a long time and I’m not sure I’ve seen a team more athletic, especially the back line.”
West Virginia will play perennial power North Carolina in the national semifinals Friday in San Jose, Calif. at 5 p.m. Eastern.
The winner will face the winner of Georgetown and USC, Sunday, Dec. 4, for the national championship.
The matches will be televised by ESPNU.