Tech Falls In Big 12 Quarterfinal To No. 1 WVU, 3-0

Wednesday, November 2

Kansas City, Mo.

11:30 A.M.

Texas Tech Athletics

9-8-2, 2-6-0Big 12

West Virginia

17-1-1, 8-0-0Big 12

Texas Tech

West Virginia

Tech Falls In Big 12 Quarterfinal To No. 1 WVU, 3-0

November 02, 2016 | Women's Soccer

Box Score Championship Central

The Red Raiders exit the conference tournament after a 3-0 defeat to the Mountaineers.

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech soccer team dropped a 3-0 decision in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinal to No. 1 West Virginia on Wednesday, Nov. 2, at Swope Soccer Village.

"You're struck at the kickoff when you're playing the No. 1 team and starting eight freshmen & sophomores, but by the end of the game, it was clear that those girls have really grown up this year," head coach Tom Stone said. "We didn't back down, we had a lot of the ball and outshot them in the second half.

"You just have to give West Virginia the credit they deserve. They're a legit, national contender. We wish them the best and hope they are the first Big 12 team to win it all if we're out.

The Mountaineers broke through in the 15^th minute after piling up six shots, all that were either blocked by the Red Raiders or away from the goal. The seventh found the back of the net; however, as a couple of touches from Ashley Lawrence and Michaela Abam found Sh'Nia Gordon in the left side of the six-yard box, who pushed it past Watson for the score.

Tech worked the ball into the WVU zone several times on the attack throughout the first frame, but were unable to register a shot until the 27^th minute when junior defender Cassie Conarty curved one just past the left post from the right side of the box. Shortly after, a pair of passes from Conarty to Gwennie Puente set up a chance for Margaret Begley, but her shot went just over the crossbar.

First team All-Big 12 goalkeeper Lauren Watson picked up two saves in the first half, as she was met with 17 shots and three corner kicks from the Mountaineers. She would finish the day with five saves, increasing her season total to 82.

"I thought [Lauren Watson] was outstanding," Stone said. "I thought Brooke Denesik was one of the best players on the field today. Jordie Harr came off the bench after four weeks off and just lit up the field. That's a great sign for us. The more we have Jordie and Gwennie [Puente] going at people, the more dangerous we're going to be."

After a 53-minute lightning delay, the second half began with an early opportunity for the Red Raiders, who controlled first touch and cleared the ball into the Mountaineer zone. Freshman midfielder Jordie Harr had the first shot of the frame, but it was blocked by a WVU defender. A few minutes later, Tech would have its first corner of the match, but the opportunity did not materialize.

Tech would outshoot the Mountaineers in the second half, eight-to-seven, to finish with 10 overall.

Shortly after Watson was shaken up on a previous play, the Mountaineers scored in the 57^th minute on a through ball from Abam to Heather Kaleiohi, who shot it to the left corner of the net and in for the two-goal lead. Moments later, West Virginia tallied another after a corner kick a deflection in front of the goal gave Carla Portillo the lane for the score to complete the 3-0 win.

"For our team, we had a great finish against Oklahoma, a top 10 team and we hope on Monday we are in good shape to play on, but now we have to sit and wait and see how it plays out for us," Stone said.

The 2016 NCAA Tournament selection show will air live on NCAA.com on Monday, Nov. 7, at 4:30 p.m. The Red Raiders entered the week at No. 42 in the latest RPI rankings.