There has been a proliferation of statistical soccer information in recent years – some useful, some utterly misleading – yet there is still only one piece of data that ultimately matters: Goals.

A failure to score enough goals coupled with a propensity to give them away too cheaply has seen the West Virginia women’s team limp to a 2-3-3 record this year. Sunday’s 2-2 tie at Purdue sparked a recurring complaint from WVU Head Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown that her team must address before the Mountaineers’ Big 12 Conference debut against Texas Tech on Sept. 21.

“We just need to start finishing the chances we are creating,” Izzo-Brown told WVUsports.com. A similar remark followed West Virginia’s 2-1 loss to La Salle in the season-opener on Aug. 17.

The Mountaineers have outshot their opponents by a combined 145-106 this season. Just over one third of those attempts have been on target, an almost identical percentage to WVU’s foes. Turning those shots into goals has been the problem. West Virginia has found the net eight times, or about once for every 18 efforts. Its rivals have been almost twice as prolific by this measure, finding the net 10 times or between every 10 and 11 shots.

Sunday’s game provided a perfect example. The Mountaineers registered 17 shots to Purdue’s nine and held a 9-4 advantage in shots on target, yet it took a late equalizer from top scorer Kate Schwindel to bail her team out.

Too many of West Virginia’s goal attempts this season have come from long-range shots that have failed to stretch opposition goalkeepers. When they have created chances inside the penalty area, there has been a tendency for players to put their head down and drive the ball safely on target rather than remaining composed and picking a spot away from the goalkeeper’s reach. Those failings in front of goal have kept opponents hanging around in games that should have been put to bed.

Duquesne’s trip to Morgantown last Friday proved particularly wasteful for a WVU offense that tallied 41 shots and forced 13 corner kicks compared to the visitors’ 13 shots and one corner kick. Schwindel again hauled the Mountaineers level in the second half, and goalkeeper Sara Keane preserved a 1-1 tie with five seconds of overtime remaining when Duquesne’s Stephanie Colon broke clear into West Virginia’s penalty area.

Junior forward Frances Silva tallied 11 of WVU’s attempts against Duquesne, hitting the target just once and sending a free header from Bry McCarthy’s cross off the post from six yards out as the second period of overtime slipped away. Schwindel also rattled the goal frame with a vicious 20-yard blast midway through the second half.

“It’s frustrating,” said WVU midfielder Kara Blosser shortly after the Duquesne game. “You keep plugging away and plugging away and it just won’t go in. We just have to keep focused and it will come with time.”

“We had 40-something chances, and I probably had six,” Blosser said. “I know I need to finish.”

Individual errors on the back line further undermined West Virginia’s cause during its opening games. Those mistakes seem to have been eliminated, but a new-look defense including freshman Leah Emaus and makeshift right-back Jess Crowder is still showing some teething problems.

Izzo-Brown spent a chunk of last Friday’s pre-game working with her defense on their coordinated movement, yet Duquesne center-forward Morgan Herbert managed to drop off into space shortly before half-time and feed a pass to late-running midfielder Paige Maroney behind WVU’s momentarily out-of-sync back line. Maroney put her team 1-0 ahead with the conviction that West Virginia’s forwards have lacked on too many occasions.

“We’re trying to figure out what we can do defensively to get shutouts,” Izzo-Brown said. “We’ve got to figure it out, because defense is going to win championships.”

Ian Thomson is a freelance soccer reporter and founder of The Soccer Observer Web site. Follow him on Twitter at @SoccerObserver.

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