Former Louisville goalkeeper Halle Pyle’s seven-save effort was not enough for Wright State as the Cardinals defeated the Raiders 2-1 for Friday’s season opener.
Freshman Isabella Habuda scored both U-of-L goals in the 43rd and 48th minutes respectively to give Louisville all the offense it needed.
Wright State freshman Bryce Hueber scored Wright State’s lone goal in the 89th on a free kick just outside of the box. WSU was unable to generate another scoring chance after Hueber’s goal to look for the equalizer.
Wright State head coach Pat Ferguson said he was not concerned losing to a squad making its ACC debut after going to the NCAA Tournament in 2013.
“If you look at going into the game, notoriety, conference, scholarships, budget, staffing, there is not one inherent advantage we have over Louisville,” Ferguson said. “So for us to come into a game and keep it close enough to make them panic a little bit, I think that is a tremendous testament to the effort the players gave.”
Despite the losing effort, Pyle was solid between the pipes for WSU. Pyle, a junior, started her first collegiate match after sitting behind Brooke McCurdy last year on the Raiders’ depth chart.
For her freshman season, Pyle, a Centerville native, started her collegiate career at Louisville. After only playing in a part of a game for the Cardinals, she decided to transfer to WSU where she is being given the opportunity to start.
“It was very nerve-racking,” Pyle said about facing her former team. “Obviously I left there for a reason, and when you are playing your old team, you want to win very badly.”
Pyle said she noted the differences between playing for a major conference institution to coming to a Horizon League institution.
“When I came here, my mom was like, ‘What does your locker look like’ and I said, ‘We don’t have lockers, we have a seat,’” Pyle said. “And I said, ‘Mom, I don’t care, I am happy.’ It is a lot different than a school that has won a national championship in a sport so that makes a big difference. So as long as anyone is happy, that is what matters.”
While Friday’s effort went down as a loss, for Ferguson and his 12 freshmen, the contest was a far cry from the Raiders’ first exhibition game when WSU lost 4-0 to Northern Kentucky on Aug. 8.
“The preseason was very productive,” Ferguson said. “The difference between that scrimmage and today was night and day. And that is hopefully how the season will go so by the time we get to conference play, we’re firing on all cylinders.”
The season does not get easier for the Raiders. Wright State travels to No. 21-ranked Wake Forrest Monday.
“The reason we’re playing Louisville and Wake Forrest is we could have play a team that could have easily beaten and learned nothing,” Ferguson said. “But the things we learned today was that we need to relax when we win the ball. We can play out of pressure to not give the ball away cheaply.”
Out of the 12 freshmen for WSU, 11 played in their first collegiate contest.
The effort was rough at first as Louisville blanked Wright State in the shot column 8-0 in the first half.
Wright State three balls towards the net in the second half, two of the shots were on net. Other than Hueber’s goal, the only other opportunity came off an Addie Englehart header that was grabbed by Louisville goalkeeper Paige Brown late in the second half.
Wright State sent three balls towards the net in the second half, two of the shots were on net. Other than Hueber’s goal, the only other opportunity came off an Addie Englehart header that was grabbed by Louisville goalkeeper Paige Brown late in the second half.
