University of Louisville
WEST VIRGINIA
WVU Edges Women's Soccer 2-1
October 03, 2010 | Women's Soccer
Oct. 3, 2010
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
Ferguson-Dayes' Postgame Comments
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Freshman Julie Casselman scored her fourth goal of the season but it was not enough as the Louisville women's soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision to West Virginia on a windy Sunday afternoon at Cardinal Park.
With the loss, the Cardinals are 8-4-0 overall and 2-3-0 in BIG EAST Conference games, while the Mountaineers improved to 7-4-1 overall and 3-1-1 in league action.
"The most important thing for us is consistency and that extra fight," said Louisville head coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes. "In the BIG EAST, you have to be good at the bare minimum and then you need players to be great. On Friday, we didn't have that. Today, we had that, but it just wasn't enough. A lot of the credit for that goes to West Virginia. But I would take our performance today against anyone in the BIG EAST, win or lose, because it was respectable. We did what we needed to do, but we just came up short and that's the game. On Friday, we didn't do that and that's what made this weekend very sour."
WVU opened the scoring in the 18th minute as Megan Mischler took a cross from Meghan Lewis and scored into the lower right corner from 12 yards out for a 1-0 lead. The goal for Mischler was the first of two for her on the day, while the assist for Lewis was her first of the season.
The Cardinals evened the score at 1-1 in the 29th minute as Casselman (Gatineau, Que./Des Sources HS) found the back of the net from nine yards away after a perfect cross from senior Caitlin Rehder (Des Plaines, Ill./South Elgin HS). The four goals for Casselman rank tied for second on the team, while the assist for Rehder was her team-leading fourth overall. The goal was the first allowed by the Mountaineers in 360 minutes of action this season dating back to the first half of their Sept. 23 loss at Marquette.
After the first half of action, WVU held a 7-4 advantage in shots, including a 3-1 edge in shots-on-goal. The Mountaineers also had a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks during the first 45 minutes.
West Virginia regained the lead for good early in the second half as Mischler scored from six yards away for her fourth goal of the season and a 2-1 advantage in the 52nd minute. Bri Rodriguez earned her fourth assist of the season on the goal.
Moments later, the Cardinals' best chance at tying the score came as freshman Christine Exeter (Pickering, Ont./Pickering HS) fired a shot from 15 yards out, but WVU goalkeeper Kerri Butler made a diving save to maintain the Mountaineers' lead and the final 2-1 margin.
Overall, WVU finished with a 16-13 advantage in shots, including a 9-3 margin in shots-on-goal, while Louisville finished with a 6-5 edge in corner kicks The Cardinals were whistled for 13 fouls, while WVU finished with just four. In goal, Louisville sophomore Taylor Vancil (South Elgin, Ill./St. Charles North HS) finished with seven saves, while Butler had a pair of stops for West Virginia.
Up next, Louisville will continue its five-game homestand against Villanova on Friday at 7 p.m., ET at Cardinal Park.
