Women's Soccer | 9/18/2016 4:20:00 PM
Box Score WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's soccer team jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead and never looked back Sunday afternoon in cruising to a 3-1 victory against Shepherd in Mountain East Conference action at a rainswept West Liberty Soccer Complex.
Coach Barry Christmas' Hilltoppers (2-3-1, 2-1-1) nearly scored in the fifth minute when Briella Taylor's shot hit the crossbar and bounced away but Taylor wasn't about to be denied.
Just a minute later, the freshman midfielder took a pass from Mackenzie Ullman and hammered a 30-yard drive into the right side of the net for a 1-0 West Liberty lead.
The Hilltoppers kept the pressure on and Taylor set up the next score, setting up a goal by Thanna Oddo that slid just under the crossbar at the 8-minute mark of the first half.
West Liberty all but put the match out of reach in the 25th minute when Kaelyn Oskin scored at point blank range off an assist from Megan Hellmuth.
After trailing 3-0 at intermission, the Rams (3-2-1, 2-2-1) were able to avoid the shutout in the 54th minute when Brianna Gorman curled a corner kick into the cage but it was too little, too late for the visitors.
The Hilltoppers outshot Shepherd by a 22-12 margin and Lauren Hartnell came up with 3 saves to earn the win in goal. Ram netminder Christi LaBella was charted with 8 saves on a busy afternoon.
The West Liberty women will be back in action on Thursday when they host Fairmont State in a 4 p.m. match.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
West Liberty 3, Shepherd 1
Shepherd 0 1 - 1
West Liberty 3 0 - 3
First Half
Second Half
Shep: Brianna Gorman (unassisted), 53:58
Match Statistics
Shots: Shepherd 12, West Liberty 22
Corners: Shepherd 5, West Liberty 7
A: 65
