MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Grace Cutler provided an early lead and No. 3 West Virginia defeated Richmond 3-0 at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium on Sunday.
Cutler scored her first goal of the year just 1:42 into the match, the ninth-fastest goal in program history, as the Mountaineers (5-2) pulled ahead for good. Michaela Abam played the ball forward for Cutler, who ran-up on it just inside the box before sending a low shot toward the near left post.
“That goal was huge,” Mountaineers coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “Grace is a tempo player for us. You look at her and say you want to work harder because she’s working so hard. For her to finish that was huge.”
West Virginia cruised to its fourth shutout of the year while outshooting Richmond 34-3. The Mountaineers placed 17 shots on-frame while rebounding from Friday’s 4-0 loss to Duke.
“I thought we responded well today and were able to create a whole lot of chances,” Izzo-Brown said. “Unfortunately, I thought we should have finished a couple more. They made sure we got a little better and grew as a team. I’m proud of the tempo we came out with today.”
Richmond fell to 0-6.
Heather Kaleiohi’s goal made it 2-0 in the 57th minute off a cross from Sh’Nia Gordon.
Some 13 minutes later, Gordon received the ball high above the box from freshman Lois Joel, then pushed left before sending a high, lofting shot from 24 yards out.