Arizona soccer once again struggled against one of the better teams on its schedule in a 3-0 loss at West Virginia on Thursday afternoon.
The Wildcats came into the match ranked No. 39 in RPI, but they
sported a 1-3 record against fellow top 50 teams. Make that 1-4 after the Mountaineers dominated the game in Morgantown.
The home team controlled possession from the beginning. They had 10 shots in the first half and put six of them on goal. The Mountaineers ability to maintain and win possession led to the Wildcats shooting the ball just twice in each half.
WVU’s domination of the ball became too much for Arizona in the 21st minute. Mountaineer Taylor White made a run down the right side, then made a perfect pass to Maddie Levy for the first score.
That was the only scoring in the first half, but the Mountaineers picked it up quickly in the second half. White was involved once again.
In the 53rd minute, Jacey Rase played the ball to White. White put the ball in the bottom right of the goal to put the Mountaineers up 2-0.
White got a brace less than eight minutes later. In the early 61st minute, Ajanae Respass played the header to White, and White put it in the net. Not only did it give White her second goal, but it gave her five points for the match.
The Mountaineers outshot the Wildcats 16-4. They put six of those shots on goal compared to two for Arizona.
The loss dropped Arizona to 7-5 overall and 2-2 in Big 12 competition. The Wildcats now travel to Cincinnati for their second game of the weekend. The match starts at 9 a.m. MST on ESPN+.
The Bearcats lost to ASU 1-0 on Thursday. They are 2-5-5 overall and 0-3-1 in conference play.
