MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After losing its top ranking this week, West Virginia made sure the new No. 1 team won’t stay there long.
First-half goals by forwards Sh’Nia Gordon and Lauren Segalla pushed the No. 6 Mountaineers to 2-1 win over No. 1 Penn State on Friday night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
“Tonight was a great growth opportunity for us to see if we could hang on to a lead,” Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “We still have a lot of work to do, but Penn State is a great team. For us to put two on them right away was pretty amazing. “
Penn State (3-1) cut West Virginia’s lead in half in the 77th minute, as Laura Freigang drew a foul in the box from Mountaineers defender Vanessa Flores. Emily Ogle connected on the ensuing penalty kick.
With its defense locked in, WVU held the Nittany Lions to a season-low three shots on-goal.
“We talked about what kind of legacy this team wants to leave,” Izzo-Brown said. “This was a moment. When I talk about this team, this win will be a moment I always bring up.”
Scoreless after 15 minutes, the Mountaineers relied on quality passing to generate their first goal.
Michaela Abam brought the ball up the left side and sent it down the line, where Hannah Abraham gave chase and sent it into Gordon. The junior used her inside foot to redirect the ball from 12 yards out.
Segalla made it 2-0 in the 37th minute after a set-up by Heather Kaleiohi, who played with the defense wide right of the box before sending a cross into the waiting freshman. After settling the ball, Segalla took a sliding shot from 18 yards out that sailed past Penn State’s Rose Chandler and into the upper left pocket.
“Whether it was the player that was crossing or the player that was finishing, we lost both individual duels,” Penn State coach Erica Dambach said. “We battled to try to get some chances. Certainly the ball didn’t fall our way tonight, but we didn’t make our own luck, either.”