MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia was rewarded late in the match for their constant pressure on the St. Francis net with a pair of second half goals as the Mountaineers defeated the Red Flash, 3-0 at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
WVU (2-1-1) outshot St. Francis (0-4) 29-1 and held an 11-1 cushion in shots on goal.
The Mountaineers broke a scoreless stalemate in the 13th minute when Lilly McCarthy sent a corner kick into the box and defender Julianne Vallerand headed home the cross from six yards out.
“Coach [Lisa] Stoia does a great job on set pieces. Obviously, Jubs is always hunting the goal. I thought both of them executed that really well,” said WVU head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown.
With WVU still nursing a 1-0 lead in the 68th minute, McCarthy had a free kick opportunity from about 25 yards out. She sent a bending ball into the side netting to double West Virginia’s lead to 2-0.
“She told me she meant to do that. She said that was the plan. I think when you bend the ball like that and you have that kind of accuracy, anything can happen. So it was a really good ball.”
The No. 21 Mountaineers capped the scoring in the 80th minute when Aaliyah Scott controlled a loose ball in the penalty area and slotted it home for her first goal of the season.
West Virginia will play a pair of matches at Auburn next weekend. The Mountaineers will face the No. 16 Tigers Thursday evening at 7:30. Izzo-Brown will coach against her daughter and Morgantown High School graduate Sammie Brown. Brown is a junior midfielder at Auburn.
“We have to find a big win in our schedule,” Izzo-Brown said. “It is fun for me as a soccer mom. I don’t get much time with my kid. To be able to hopefully get a little time with her and also be there for a while means the world to me.”