Charleston, W. Va – On Wednesday evening, Golden Eagles squared off with the West Virginia State Yellow Jackets in the Mountain East Conference Tournament Semifinal. These two teams have faced each other twice this season, and both matches would result in 1-1 draws. This time, a draw would not be good enough to decide this match. With West Virginia State in contention for post-season play past the MEC Tournament and Charleston seeded first in the region, this was a must-win for the visiting Yellow Jackets.
The Basics
Location: Welch Athletic Complex
Score: UC 1, WVSU 0
Records: UC 17-0-3 (13-0-2 MEC), WVSU 11-6-3 (9-3-3 MEC)
How it Happened
As many had predicted, this was a defensive battle between the cross-town rivals in the Capital City. In the first half, the Golden Eagles would find four shots on frame firing off five total, but West Virginia State goalkeeper Laura Galindo knew her team was in a must-win situation late in their season and would parry away all four shots on goal. With the Yellow Jackets playing deep in their own territory for majority of the half, they would be limited to just one shot in the opening 45 minutes of play. The two teams would head into the locker room knotted up at 0-0.
In the second half, Charleston would increase the number of shots taken, but none of them would find the back of the net. In the late stages of the second half, Sophia Mankowski would sprint down the field and send a cross into the box. Frankie Morrow would find the receiving end of the cross in front of the goal but would send her shot too high and find the crossbar. With too little time left, the game would move to overtime.
In the 94
th minute, the Golden Eagles would find the go-ahead goal on a beautiful pass into the box from Frankie Morrow that connected with Michelle Wenger's right foot and Wenger's shot would find the left corner of the net for the 1-0 lead. The Golden Eagles would hold onto the lead for the remainder of the match and secure their spot in the Mountain East Conference Tournament Championship.
Up Next
Charleston will face Frostburg State, the top ranked team in the MEC North Division this Sunday. In their one and only meeting this year, the Golden Eagles pulled away with the 1-0 win in Frostburg, MD. Kickoff is set for November 12
th at 1:00 PM at the Welch Athletic Complex