MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Kailey Utley’s second-half hat trick pushed No. 4-ranked West Virginia past Loyola Marymount 5-2 and into the women’s soccer Elite Eight for the second time.
“I knew my performance in the first half wasn’t good enough,” said Utley, who scored the go-ahead goal in the 54th minute. “We were tied 2-2 and it could have been our last game, it could have been the end of our season. I knew I had to pick it up.”
The second-seeded Mountaineers (19-2-1, 6-0-1) overcame some uncharacteristic defensive slips Sunday to finish 13-0 at home. One of those wins came against regional top seed Penn State back on Sept. 4, the same Nittany Lions who now stand between WVU and its first Final Four appearance. Next Saturday’s rematch against the Big Ten champions will be played in University Park, Pa.
“From day one, this team wanted to separate themselves and be special,” said Mountaineers coach Nikki Izzo-Brown, now just one win away from her 300th career victory. “They have done just that today with their 19 wins because no other team in program history has done that. Now, they have to get to the Final Four.”
Loyola Marymount (15-5-1, 7-2) threatened West Virginia’s 25-game home unbeaten streak for a half, answering goals by Michaela Abam and Heather Kaleiohi with scores from Raquel Angelone and Jill Farley. WVU had allowed two goals only once previously this season.
“LMU had a great game plan, and they came out ready to play,” said Izzo-Brown. “We didn’t really know them, and I don’t think we gave them enough credit. Once we saw how good LMU was, they woke the giant.”
Held without a shot throughout the first half, Utley made it 3-2 by receiving Nia Gordon’s cross inside the box before turning and directing the toward the far left post.
The All-Big 12 player tacked on an insurance goal just three minutes later off a corner kick. She collected the ricochet at the top of the box and ripped a shot past LMU’s Charlee Pruitt.
Utley finished off he first three-goal game in the 81st minute after taking a cross from Bianca St. Georges. season.
“She was relentless,” Izzo-Brown said. “I have been riding my seniors and our leadership all year, so this doesn’t surprise me.”
The five goals represented the most scored by West Virginia in 31 NCAA tournament matches.
“We were never out of the game,” said LMU coach Michelle Myers. “The bottom line was that they finished it when they had the chance. That was the difference-maker today. They didn’t outshoot us. We had great opportunities. We were possessing the ball. We were getting it behind them. We were creating things. I thought we did a wonderful job today, and unfortunately, they were a lot more clinical and efficient in their finishing.”