University of Louisville
#11 West Virginia
Women's Soccer Falls in BIG EAST Championship Game
November 06, 2011 | Women's Soccer
Nov. 6, 2011
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Playing in the program's first ever BIG EAST Championship title game, the Louisville women's soccer team suffered a 2-0 loss to 11th-ranked West Virginia on Sunday afternoon at Dick Dlesk Stadium on the campus of WVU.
The loss ended the Cardinals' school record eight-game winning streak and dropped them to 12-6-3 overall on the season. It is the first loss for Louisville since a 1-0 loss against No. 10 Marquette on Sept. 30. With their second straight BIG EAST Championship title, the host Mountaineers improved to 17-4-0 on the season and extended their overall winning streak to eight.
"At the end of the day, I think the difference in the game was West Virginia's experience in these situations," said Louisville head coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes. "We had chances to score but their goalkeeper was big-time today. They had chances and they were able to capitalize on them. West Virginia put together a full 90 minutes because they understood what they needed to do in order to win a BIG EAST championship. We didn't put together a full 90 minutes and there were times when we had lapses and at the end of the game, we couldn't even clear the ball. West Virginia is a fantastic team and they deserve to win today. We will be a stronger team because of it and we'll be ready for the first round of the NCAA Tournament."
WVU opened the scoring in Sunday's title game when Blake Miller connected on a penalty kick in the 28th minute for a 1-0 advantage and her team-leading 10th goal of the season. The PK opportunity was setup when Miller was fouled in the box on a slide tackle by Louisville junior defender Courtney Holtz (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods HS).
After taking that lead into the halftime break, the Mountaineers pushed their lead to 2-0 less than five minutes into the second half as Frances Silva took a pass across the field from the far left side from Bry McCarthy and scored inside the far left post in the 50th minute. The goal for Silva was her eighth of the season, while the assist from McCarthy was her team-leading ninth.
Trailing by two, the Cardinals had several strong scoring chances down the stretch but WVU goalkeeper Sara Keane turned away every Louisville shot en route to five saves and her ninth shutout of the season. Overall, Louisville was out-shot 14-12, but the Cardinals did finish with a 5-3 edge in shots on-goal. WVU held a slim 6-5 edge in corner kicks and Louisville was whistled for the only offsides call of the game.
Louisville had four players named to the BIG EAST Championship All-Tournament Team - senior Kaitie McDonald (Nashville, Tenn./Franklin Road Academy), senior Jennifer Jones (Louisville, Ky./Assumption HS), sophomore Christine Exeter (Pickering, Ont., Canada/Pickering HS) and sophomore Chelsea Hunter (Novi, Mich./Walled Lake Western HS).
The Cardinals will now await their NCAA post-season assignment as the 64-team field for the 2011 NCAA Women's Soccer Championship will be released on Monday at 4:30 p.m., ET during the live selection show online at NCAA.com.
Louisville Post-Game Notes
- The Cardinals dropped to 0-5-1 all-time against West Virginia, including an 0-3-1 record in BIG EAST Championship games.
- Louisville's eight-game winning streak which was ended on Sunday is a school record and surpassed the seven straight wins to open the 2010 season.
- The Cardinals are now 5-5-1 all-time in six total appearances in the BIG EAST Championship.
- Christine Exeter, the 2011 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, was held without a goal for the first time since Oct. 16 ending a three-game goal streak for the sophomore. She has also registered a point (goal or an assist) in eight straight games overall before Sunday's shutout loss.
- Sunday marked the first time the Cardinals have been shutout since the 1-0 loss versus No. 10 Marquette on Sept. 30.
- Louisville remains one victory shy of matching the school record win total of 13 set in back-to-back seasons in 2006 and 2007.
- The Cardinals will watch Monday's NCAA Championship selection show with expectations of earning the program's third NCAA bid all-time and the first since 2007. Louisville previously reached the NCAA Championship with at-large bids in 2006 and 2007.
2011 BIG EAST Championship All-Tournament Team
Ingrid Wells, Georgetown
Melissa Henderson, Notre Dame
Christine Exeter, Louisville
Chelsea Hunter, Louisville
Jennifer Jones, Louisville
Kaitie McDonald, Louisville
Sara Keane, West Virginia
Bry McCarthy, West Virginia
Blake Miller, West Virginia
Kate Schwindel, West Virginia
Frances Silva, West Virginia
Most Outstanding Offensive Player
Blake Miller, West Virginia
Most Outstanding Defensive Player
Bry McCarthy, West Virginia
