STORRS, Conn. - In the first semifinal of the 2009 BIG EAST Women's Soccer Championship, Marquette shutout West Virginia 1-0 to advance to the title game of the BIG EAST Championship for the first time in school history. Sophomore goalkeeper Natalie Kulla, who has played every minute of every game this season for Marquette, made six saves and increased her league-leading shutout total to 15.

Marquette sophomore Rachael Sloan scored the only goal of the game 26:35 into the first half following a West Virginia foul. The Golden Eagles set play began 35-yards out as junior Julia Victor sent a feed in to the left side of the box. Senior Brittany Bares received the pass cleanly and expertly guided a pass in front of the net where Sloan knocked it home from a few yards out. It was Sloan's team-leading sixth goal of the season.

The scored remained 1-0 Marquette at halftime.

West Virginia turned up the intensity in the opening minutes of the of the second half. A scrum in front of the net had Mountaineers junior Meghan Mischler in position to tally the equalizer. A shot from one-yard out at hit the left post and left West Virginia scoreless.

Neither side had a corner kick. Each side had 11 shots overall.

West Virginia junior goalkeeper Kerri Butler made six saves.

This year's BIG EAST Championship is being held Nov. 6 and 8 at Morrone Stadium on the campus of the University of Connecticut. All three games will be televised live nationally on CBS College Sports. In addition, the title game also will be broadcast live on numerous regional sports networks including SportsNet New York (SNY) and streamed online at www.bigeast.tv for $3.95.