Beckley, W.Va. – Entering the postseason with a multitude of school records already, the West Liberty University women's soccer team looked to continue that magic on Sunday afternoon but fell short in a 2-1 decision at Concord. The 2023 season ends in the quarterfinal round of the Mountain East Conference Women's Soccer Tournament for the Hilltoppers, the team's first postseason appearance since 2018.
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: West Liberty 1, Concord 2
Team Records: West Liberty 7-8-4 (5-6-3 MEC), Concord 12-5-2 (10-4-1 MEC)
Attendance: 168
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Sydney Tucker broke the scoreless tie and gave Concord the 1-0 lead late in the first half with a goal off a free kick attempt. Olivia Bekeleski headed the ball down to Anna Davis inside the box and she proceeded to pass the ball over to Tucker who found the top left corner of the net from just outside the six yard box in the 41st minute.
- Coming off another free kick set for the Mountain Lions, Reeanna Cook sent a pass into the box and Alexa Todd connected with the ball off the bounce to send it into the top right corner of the net to extend the lead to 2-0 in the 54th minute.
- Still in the 54th minute, Maya Taggart was able to find a path through the CU defense and drew a foul attacking into the box. Taking the penalty kick for West Liberty was Amelia Compston as she sent the ball into the left side of the net to cut the deficit in half only 24 seconds after Concord's last score.
- The Hilltoppers continued to pressure the Mountain Lions as Isabella Aperfine intercepted a pass from a CU defender and found Mia Zecca with space on the left side of the field. With an open look at the net from the top of the 18 yard box she fired a shot towards the bottom left corner of the net, but had it knocked out of play on a diving save by Savannah Bates for a WLU corner kick in the 56th minute.
- The final shot-on-goal for the Black & Gold came in the 73rd minute by Morgan Kost as she received a pass from Compston in the middle of the field and fired a shot towards the top of the net from 25 yards out which was saved by Bates.
- Zara Wickert made six saves in the match, including four in the first half and two in the second half. This marked the 11th game this season she recorded five or more saves.
- Concord held the advantage in shots (12-6), shots-on-goal (8-3), corner kicks (8-6) while West Liberty held the edge in saves (6-2).
WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Amelia Compston: 2 shots, 1 shot-on-goal, 1 goal
Morgan Kost: 1 shot, 1 shot-on-goal
Mia Zecca: 1 shot, 1 shot-on-goal
Zara Wickert: 6 saves
