Women's Soccer: WVU Upends George Mason

By Tim Goodenow for WVUsports.com
August 28, 2011 03:31 PM

Frances Silva

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Three first-first half goals were enough as No. 17 West Virginia posted a 3-0 shutout over George Mason in game two of the Penn State Invitational Sunday afternoon at Jeffrey Field.

The Mountaineers received goals from Drea Barklage, Frances Silva and Chelsey Corroto – the first scores of the season for each. All three goals came in an eight minute-span.

“I was pleased we were able to bounce back after a tough loss on Friday,” said coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “We came out hard and created several chances in the first half. It felt good to be able to put three away and get a shutout.”

Freshman midfielder Kate Schwindel served a corner kick into the heart of the box where Barklage headed home her first goal of the season to put WVU up 1-0. The play was set up by defender Bry McCarthy’s free kick into the box that was cleared out of bounds by the Patriot defense.

West Virginia added to its lead when Silva fired a shot from the top of the box in the 34th minute. Silva took a deflection off WVU’s sixth corner kick, sending a ball inside the near post to go on top 2-0.

Less than two minutes later, Silva flicked a ball into the middle where forward Katie Lenz took a shot that was blocked by GMU goalkeeper Alex Bodenschatz. A hustling Corroto slotted the loose ball into the empty net while being taken down by a George Mason defender.

West Virginia outshot George Mason, 22-15, and held a 9-5 corner kick edge. The Mountaineers’ 13 shots on-goal are the most since attempting 13 against Providence in October 2008.

The WVU defense recorded its second shutout of the season and held tight the second half in battling a strong wind that led to 11 GMU shots.

WVU goalkeeper Sara Keane came up with a big save in the 72nd minute on a shot from Nicole Clarke. Clarke pushed forward down the right flank, taking a pass from across the field and dribbling at the goal. Keane dove to her left to deny Clarke’s shot on the ground.

Keane’s biggest stop of the match came in the 25th minute to eliminate a scoring try for George Mason. Kelly Thomas slipped behind the Mountaineer defense in transition and took one too many touches on a breakaway as Keane came off her line and slid in to steal the ball away at her feet.

The Mountaineers had several scoring chances in the opening half, including a Barklage header over the crossbar in the 20th minute.

Two minutes later, WVU came within inches of a score off a Blake Miller header. Midfielder Bri Rodriguez worked the ball to the end line and delivered a perfect ball into the middle where Miller’s header dinged hard off the left post.

Schwindel nearly added to the scoring in the 61st minute off a cross from forward Emily Dillon. Dillon’s service from the left side found Schwindel in the middle of the box, leading to a foot save by Bodenschatz.

Keane worked all 90 minutes in goal, registering five saves, while Bodenschatz made a career high 10 saves in picking up the loss.

Schwindel’s assist on Barklage’s game-winner was the first of her career.

West Virginia, 2-2-0 on the season, improves to 3-0 all-time against George Mason, who falls to 0-2-1.

The Mountaineers return to action on Thursday, Sept. 1, for a 7 p.m. contest against No. 7 Ohio State. The match with the Buckeyes has also been deemed a Dollar Night and Gold Rush, and will feature a WVU Fan Shirt Contest.

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