MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A shorthanded K-State squad made its first road trip of 2020, as the Wildcats faced West Virginia on Friday night at Dick Dlesk Stadium.
After an early K-State goal the Mountaineers scored four unanswered goals to down the Wildcats, 4-1.
K-State (0-2-0) had 18 players available for Friday’s match, including 12 underclassmen. Freshman goalkeeper Alaina Werremeyer, making her second career start, registered a season-high eight saves.
“Tonight was an opportunity for a lot of our players to get on the field,” said K-State head coach Mike Dibbini. “There were a lot of players that weren’t here this evening that would have given us depth and experience but it was beneficial for the players that made the trip. They held their own but we have a lot of work to do.”
In the seventh minute, K-State captured the early 1-0 advantage. Senior Brookelynn Entz received a long ball from Shelby Lierz. Entz deflected the ball past West Virginia goalkeeper Maddie Murphy but her work wasn’t done.
Entz then chased the ball down and slid toward the ball and tapped it into the wide-open frame before a West Virginia defender could slide in to keep it off the line.
This was the first goal K-State has scored against West Virginia in the four meetings between the squads. It was also the earliest goal scored by either the Wildcats or Mountaineers in the series.
The goal for Entz improved her K-State career record for goals to 11 and her career points record to 29. Lierz was credited with the assist, the first of her career.
“That was part of our plan, to press a little higher and force the action early and it resulted in a goal,” said Dibbini. “Unfortunately, we haven’t been in a position in the early stages of this season of being up a goal. We sat back for the next 10 minutes and some of the anxiety of defending came back into our play. They kept coming at us during that time.”
West Virginia (2-0-0) tied the match in the 11th minute, as Enzi Broussard sent a rolling shot from eight yards and nudged it off the far-right post.
The Mountaineers then went in front in the 13th minute, as Nicole Payne pinged the crossbar from the right side of the field. The ball bounced straight down and just past the goal line.
Late in the first half, Lierz almost squared the match at two. A loose ball fell to her feet from 19 yards, Lierz carried the ball to within 17 yards and attempted to chip the keeper. Her shot just hit the top of the crossbar and deflected out of bounds.
West Virginia added to its lead in the 54th minute, as Lauren Segalla crossed a low ball from the right side of the field and in front of the goal mouth. Broussard won the race to the left post and redirected the ball into the net from four yards.
The Mountaineers scored their second goal of the second half in the 68th minute, as Julianne Vallerand weaved through the defense and hit a line drive shot with her left foot from 11 yards.
For the night, West Virginia held a 17-4 advantage in total shots and a 6-0 lead in corner kicks.
K-State returns to Buser Family Park on Friday as the Wildcats host TCU at 7 p.m. Tickets for Friday’s match will be available on Friday morning at 8 a.m.
Friday’s game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. It will also be for free at kstatesports.com.
– kstatesports.com –