BUCKHANNON — Ellie Pergolotti scored on a crossing pass from Beth Burchett in the 26th minute and West Virginia Wesleyan College (1-1-0) women’s soccer notched its first win of the 2023 season, 1-0, over California University of Pennsylvania (1-1-0) Wednesday afternoon in Buckhannon.
The game’s only score was set up on a throw-in by Kameron Bonneau at the 30-yard line. Lady Bobcat forward Burchett dribbled right through a pair of Vulcan defenders and crossed to the back post where Pergolotti snapped a shot from 10 yards out past California keeper Emily Ouimet.
A solid Wesleyan defense kept the Vulcans at bay for the rest of the 64 minutes, at times frustrating California to the tune of two yellow card fouls, one to Cora Wilkins (67th minute) and Kaylee Elwood (86th minute).
The Vulcans had a golden opportunity to tie in the 77th minute when Vulcan forward Veronica Warunek found herself 1-v-1 with Wesleyan keeper Alyssa Williams just 10 yards out, but miss struck the ball and it curled outside the left post.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the effort and performance we witnessed not just today, but in our season opener as well,” said first-year head coach Adam Christensen. “Our team has demonstrated an ability to dictate the game, create opportunities, and win against a good opponent, while playing the way we’ve trained and the style we love.”
Wesleyan returns to action Sept. 10, when it travels to Athens, W.Va. for a 1 p.m. matchup with Concord University.
Boxscore
