UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Syracuse women’s soccer team closed out the Penn State Invitational with a 2-1 setback to No. 19 West Virginia on Sunday, Aug. 25 in University Park, Pa. The difference in the evenly played match was an own goal in the 87th minute that gave the Mountaineers the victory.

“It was a heartbreaking loss,” said Syracuse head coach Phil Wheddon. “I’m really proud of how disciplined and organized we were against a very tough opponent. It’s some of the best soccer I’ve seen in my time here.”

West Virginia (1-0-1) took an early lead, tallying a goal in the second minute of play. Frances Silva crossed the ball to Kate Schwindel, who put her shot in the back of the net from 12 yards out.

“They scored in the first five minutes before we found our rhythm,” Wheddon said. “But then we settled down and created a lot of scoring chances.”

Sophomore Erin Simon (Oakhurst, N.J.) converted one of those opportunities in the 56th minute. She tied the score when she gathered in a through ball from senior Jackie Moriarty (Ashburn, Va.) and beat West Virginia goalkeeper Sara Keane for her first goal of the year. Simon finished the tournament with four points (1g, 2a). Moriarty recorded her first career point on the play.

The Orange (1-1) continued to be the more dangerous team, but Keane blocked a shot from freshman Stephanie Skilton (Auckland, New Zealand) and then corralled a shot from senior Rachel Blum (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) off a corner kick to keep the score tied. The game appeared to be headed to overtime, but a Syracuse defender deflected a crossing pass by Silva past SU goalkeeper Brittany Anghel (East Meadow, N.Y.) in the 87th minute to give the Mountaineers the victory.

“West Virginia is a ranked team so it was really our first test of playing one of the top teams in the country,” Wheddon said. “We handled it very well. It was a very evenly played game.”

The statistics were nearly identical for both teams. West Virginia outshot the Orange, 10-9, while SU earned six corner kicks to five for the Mountaineers. Anghel finished with five saves, while Keane recorded four.

The Orange hosts Albany on Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. in its home opener at the SU Soccer Stadium. Admission is free of charge.

AGATE
  1st 2nd Final
Syracuse 0 1 1
West Virginia 1 1 2

Scoring:
2:52 WVU Kate Schwindel (Frances Silva)
56:47 SU Erin Simon (Jackie Moriarty)
87:16 WVU Team

Shots: West Virginia 10, Syracuse 9
Corner Kicks: Syracuse 6, West Virginia 5
Saves: Syracuse 5 (Brittany Anghel), West Virginia 4 (Sara Keane)

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