University of South Florida
West Virginia
USF Nipped By No. 23 WVU, 2-0
October 26, 2007 | Women's Soccer
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. ? The University of South Florida women's soccer team lost 2-0 to the No. 23 West Virginia Mountaineers Friday night in Morgantown.
With the defeat, the Bulls drop to 4-9-2 overall and 3-6-1 in BIG EAST action, while the Mountaineers improve to 12-4-1 overall and 8-1-1 in the league.
Sophomore goalkeeper Mallori Lofton-Malachi had her hands full Friday night, collecting six saves in 90 minutes. No USF player recorded a shot in the game.
Leading scorers Lindsay Brauer and Autumn Browning played less than 55 minutes and senior defender Paulina McIntosh was only on the field for 70 minutes, giving some game-time experience to newcomers Amy Ryan, Emily Martin, Alyshia Currey, Angelique Waller, Camilla Aseng, Nina Jokuschies and Lisa Maria Bjorkvik.
"We played a really hard-fought game," said Coach Denise Schilte-Brown. "A lot of the ladies who hadn't seen many minutes this season stepped up and did great for us. Malllori [Lofton-Malachi] did really well in goal for us, and Pasquale Anderson played 90 minutes for us and battled hard. AnnaLea Crowe also played well tonight."
USF returns to action Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. for the regular season closer against Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. The Bulls lead the series with the Panthers 1-0-1, with both games going into one overtime.
"Now we are going to focus on Sunday and try to fight for our life in the BIG EAST," Schilte-Brown concluded.
The Bulls are currently in sixth in the BIG EAST standings, just one point behind Syracuse and two behind St. John's. USF can earn three points with a win over Pitt or one point if they tie with the Panthers Sunday afternoon.
The results of weekend games will control the fate of the USF women's soccer team's chance to play in the BIG EAST Championship. The first round of the tournament will be held Nov. 1 at campus sites, as the fifth seed will play at the home of the fourth seed. Tournament quarterfinals will be held at campus sites on Sunday, Nov. 4. The final four teams will play the remainder of the championship in Morgantown, W.Va. Nov. 9 and 11. Semifinals will be at 5 and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9, and the finals at Dick Dlesk Stadium are at noon Eastern Sunday, Nov. 11.
