Georgetown brings WVU women's soccer season to an end with penalty kicks

Nov. 21—MORGANTOWN — West Virginia's women's soccer season ended in a heartbreaker in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

The No. 7-seeded Mountaineers lost 4-3 on penalty kicks, 1-1 at the end of two overtimes, to No. 2-seeded Georgetown in the second round of the tournament. WVU has lost to the Hoyas for the second time in a row. WVU lost the last meeting in 2022.

The Mountaineers ended the year 14-3-4, and Georgetown picked up its 16th win of the year.

"Wow, I'm really lost for words, and that doesn't happen too often, " Georgetown head coach Dave Nolan said. "I mean, first off, it was a really exciting game played by two very good teams, both hoping to prolong their season, certainly a little bit longer. So, lot of credit to the West Virginia coaching staff and their kids for playing such a good game.

WVU and Georgetown were almost in sync on penalties. They both made the first two and missed the third. Georgetown and WVU made the fourth, and the Hoyas' Natalie Means sank the fifth. It all came down to freshman midfielder Ava Arnold. She made the run-up and shot the ball toward the net. The ball hit the top of the crossbar and bounced a foot in front of the goal line.

WVU's season ended, and Georgetown moved on to the third round to host No. 3 Florida State on Saturday at noon.

"Penalty kick shootouts are always a lottery, " Nolan said. "You prepare, you train, and then it comes down to people having the nerves to make plays when those plays come along. So I got to give our PK takers a lot of credit for having the bravery and the desire wanting to take those PKs."

WVU rolled against Wagner, with the offense starting off hot, and Thursday night was no different. The Mountaineers had a chance early, creating some commotion in the box. After some deflections, senior forward Ajanae Respass saw an opening and slotted it into the left of the net, giving the Mountaineers a quick lead just three minutes into the game. Respass scored her third goal of the year.

From there, WVU couldn't get anything to go.

Georgetown put on the pressure, being down a score. The Hoyas raced past the Mountaineers' defense, and redshirt senior Mary Cochran fired in a shot. It had a speed that was savable, but sophomore Lizzie Heller redirected the shot into the goal, making it square in the 23rd minute. It was Heller's third goal of the season, and first since mid-October.

After the Hoyas answered, there wasn't much action, and possessions were pretty even. WVU and Georgetown were tied with 11 shots apiece at the end of regulation, but WVU had two more shots on goal, with eight.

With the score 1-1, the game went into two overtimes. WVU had a chance in both overtimes, but couldn't get anything to hit the back of the net. The Mountaineers led 14-13 in shots and had one more shot on goal.

"But in the game itself, we had some chances that we probably could have nicked it, " Nolan said. "They could have maybe had a couple of chances. So, a draw was probably fair over the 90 minutes, and we were certainly happy enough to come through it after the PKs."

WVU's season ends on penalties for the second year in a row. The Mountaineers lost in 2024 in the first round of the 2024 tournament to No. 5 Kentucky on penalties. That score was also 1-1, and WVU lost 4-2 in the shootout.