Women's Soccer: WVU Set for Virginia
August 29, 2003 08:13 AM | General
August 29, 2003
 Izzo-Brown |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The 2003 West Virginia University women's soccer season begins on the road Saturday, Aug. 30, at 1 p.m., when the No.8 Mountaineers take on No.10 Virginia at Klockner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va.
For the first time in program history, the Mountaineers open the season ranked in the nation's Top 10.
The match is the fourth in the series which UVA leads 2-1-0. Last season, WVU defeated Virginia 2-1 in Charlottesville behind goals from Rachel Kruze and Chrissie Abbott for the program's 75th win and its first over an opponent ranked in the Top 10. During postseason play, the Cavaliers traveled to Morgantown for the second round of the 2002 NCAA tournament and ended WVU's Sweet Sixteen hopes with a narrow 1-0 victory in treacherous playing conditions.
"We're extremely excited to play the University of Virginia because we have a tremendous amount of respect for their program as a national powerhouse," says head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. "This is also a special game for us because they ended our season last year. We're looking forward to opening up this season against them."
West Virginia returns a talented nucleus, led by senior All-Americans Chrissie Abbott and Lisa Stoia. Abbott, a 2003 preseason All-America honoree by SoccerBuzz, scored a record-setting 20 goals and dished out seven assists for 47 points last season. Stoia was the Mountaineers third leading scorer and led the team in assists with 10. Both are preseason all-BIG EAST selections with Abbott being the conference's preseason offensive player of the year.
Live stats for Saturday's contest at Virginia can be accessed at: http://virginiasports.ocsn.com/livestats/w-soccer/index.html
The Mountaineers return to Morgantown for their home opener on Monday, Sept. 1, at 3 p.m. against Michigan State at the Mountaineer Soccer Complex.
