MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's soccer team rounded out its non-conference schedule on Friday night with a 2-0 loss against West Virginia under the lights at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. Senior Amanda Fitzgerald recorded a career-high 12 saves in the contest.

"I am proud of the way our team played and we took a step forward tonight against a quality opponent," said head coach Eric Teepe. "We played the ball well in the first 20 minutes of action and I think we played hard defensively. If we continue to be aggressive and be consistent, we will be very competitive."

This was the first meeting in each programs history and each team possessed the ball evenly within the first 10 minutes of action. FDU (2-5-3) senior Jackson Bennett attempted the first shot of the game in the 12th minute from the left side of the field that was saved by West Virginia (4-3-1) senior goalie Rylee Foster. Fitzgerald recorded her first save of the match in the 17th minute when WVU freshman Nicole Payne got behind the Knights defense and rifled a shot that forced Fitzgerald to dive for the ball.

West Virginia senior Jade Gentile then spun off a shot that Fitzgerald saved without allowing a rebound. The Mountaineers broke through in the 18th minute as sophomore Jordan Brewster buried a penalty kick to the far left corner of the net to give WVU a 1-0 lead. The goal was the first of the year for Brewster.

Fitzgerald then made another crucial play after the Brewster goal as Payne was streaking up the middle and had a pass sent in that the netminder dove and grabbed. Gentile attempted another shot from the right side of the field that Fitzgerald stopped in the 25th minute. "Amanda was very composed tonight and continues to make plays for us when needed," said Teepe.

The Mountaineers continued to apply pressure to the Knights backline, but they continued to hold their ground as they were forcing WVU into deep and contested shot attempts. Fitzgerald made back to back saves in the 32nd and 33rd minute on shots from WVU seniors Kayla Morrison and Jessica Lisi. After the Knights started to gain possession back following the pair of Fitzgerald saves, the Mountaineers were able to counter with three shots on goal. Fitzgerald recorded multiple sliding saves within those three shots and the Knights defense did a nice job of clearing corner kick opportunities from WVU at the end of the first half.

The Burgundy and Blue came out of the half looking to get behind the WVU defense with long passes and did so early in the half. The Mountaineers however were quick to the ball and Gentile countered in the 54th minute with a shot attempt that Fitzgerald came out and made a play on. The Gentile shot produced a rebound off the hands of Fitzgerald and FDU senior Julia Shea got back in net, but sophomore Isabelle Sibley was able to find the top right corner of the net to extend the lead to 2-0.

Bennett looked to cut the deficit to one goal in the 56th minute off a service in from sophomore Isabelle Udovc but Foster made a nice save on the left-footed boot from Bennett. The Knights defense then blocked two consecutive shots and didn't allow a shot on goal for 11 straight minutes after the Sibley goal.

Fitzgerald then came up big again as she made saves on shots from Morrison and freshman Enzi Broussard. The senior recorded her final save of the match in the 76th minute as the Burgundy and Blue fell 2-0.

Bennett led the Knights offense with two shots on goal. Fitzgerald tallied eight first half saves and four in the second half. The Burgundy and Blue had 16 players appear in the match.

FDU will return to action at 12p.m. on Sunday, September 29 when they host NEC opponent Merrimack College at University Stadium for the first time in program history.