Senior forward Megan Mischler netted the game-winner in the 97th minute and senior goalkeeper Kerri Butler pitched a shutout to lead the West Virginia women’s soccer team past Syracuse, 1-0, Friday evening at SU Soccer Stadium in Syracuse, N.Y. Butler’s clean sheet, her seventh of the season, gives her the school record with 37 career shutouts.


Butler, the reigning BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week, surpassed Lana Bannerman (2003-06) as the school’s all-time leader with 37 career shutouts. Butler made four saves against the Orange in picking up her 40th career victory between the posts.

“It means a lot,” said Butler of school record. “I’ve played with a lot of great players and had some great coaches along the way. Most importantly, we won tonight and I’m happy about that.”

“I’m so proud of Kerri,” said coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “What a great opportunity for her to go into the record books. She has accomplished so much for our program and I couldn’t be happier for her right now.”

Mischler’s goal in overtime was set up by midfielder Bri Rodriguez who sent a pass down the right sideline to midfielder Caroline Szwed. Szwed quickly turned a found forward Blake Miller at the top of the box. Miller dummied the ball inside the box to Mischler who slotted the ball past a diving SU goalkeeper Brittany Anghel for the only score of the match.

Mischler has scored in three-straight matches to push her season total to five, while Miller and Szwed earned assists on the game-winner.

“I thought the Syracuse goalkeeper played a great game but our persistent attack paid off with Mischler’s great finish in overtime,” said Izzo-Brown. “We had several chances in each half but were a little off. We were able to get some numbers forward and create scoring chances.”

The Mountaineer offense was aggressive throughout the contest, collecting 18 shots and generating six corner kicks.

Freshman forward Frances Silva nearly gave the Mountaineers an early lead with a shot in the sixth minute. Silva’s shot from 16 yards out drew a kick save from Anghel, leading to Rodriguez taking a rebound shot that needed cleared off the line by SU defender Casey Ramirez.

At the 18:36 mark, Mischler had a scoring opportunity on a through ball up the middle from midfielder Ashtin Larkin. Mischler slotted a ball on the ground that skipped just wide of the right post.

“I love playing with Ashtin because she’s a great communicator and we play well off each other,” said Szwed of Larkin’s play. “We are able to connect our back line with our front line, and it helps to have Rod (Bri Rodriguez) as an option in the middle. I think the midfield did a great job tonight.”

WVU’s defense limited Syracuse to only two shots in the first half – both harmless attempts from outside the box. The Orange finished with six shots and zero corner kick attempts.

After a scoreless opening 45 minutes, the Mountaineers came out strong in the second half with three shots in the first two and a half minutes. A fine opportunity came from defender Drea Barklage who forced a punch save over the crossbar on her header following a corner kick.

Later in the match, a third yellow card by Syracuse nearly helped the Mountaineers put the match away in the 88th minute on a header from defender Meghan Lewis. SU defender Kayla Afonso picked up her second yellow card by taking out forward Blake Miller on the right side. The free kick allowed Bry McCarthy to send a ball towards the far post where Lewis headed a ball down and across the goal for the near score.

In the 94th minute, Silva blasted a ball at the near post, forcing Anghel to make her seventh and final save of the night.

“This team battled tonight in a very tough environment,” said Izzo-Brown. “We kept grinding and grinding against a different type of play that Syracuse presented to us."