Last Call
October 26, 2007 09:59 AM | General
October 26, 2007
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| Nikki Izzo-Brown |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After winning three of four during a tough four-game road stretch the No. 19 West Virginia women’s soccer team returns home this weekend to play a pair of BIG EAST matches to close out the regular season.
After splitting games to begin the road stretch, winning 3-0 at Providence and falling 2-0 to No. 17 UConn, a loss seemed likely last Friday afternoon at Georgetown when the Mountaineers fell behind 3-1 late in the second half. WVU proved resilient however, scoring four goals in a 16-minute period to pull out a thrilling 5-3, come-from-behind victory. West Virginia then beat Villanova 1-0 two days later.
“Our conference is the biggest conference in the country so they have to put us back-to-back weekends on the road and that is a very difficult time of year for us,” Head Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “I was really proud of the productivity we got and the momentum heading into this Friday.”
This weekend, the Mountaineers entertain South Florida on Friday at 7 p.m. and then battle Marquette on Sunday at 1 p.m. The outcome of those two matches will go a long way toward determining final seeding in the BIG EAST tournament that starts Nov. 1.
West Virginia (11-4-1, 7-1-1) can finish no worse than second in the American Division and has secured itself of a first-round bye in the conference tournament. The Mountaineers are still alive for the outright division crown if they can pick up two wins this weekend and have Connecticut either lose or tie one of its final two games.
While the Huskies have the same conference record as West Virginia, their 2-0 victory over the Gold and Blue last weekend gives them the tiebreaker. Connecticut finishes the regular season with matches at St. John’s on Friday and at Syracuse on Sunday.
“We want to win a BIG EAST Championship regular season and a BIG EAST Championship postseason,” Izzo-Brown said. “We want to take care of these two games and do what we can do to make it happen and hopefully have UConn fumble.”
In the National Division, Notre Dame holds an eight-point lead heading into the final week of the regular season, and has secured the division crown for the 11th time in 13 BIG EAST seasons.
First up for the Mountaineers on Friday is a South Florida team that arrives in Morgantown trying to snap a three-game losing streak as it plays its fourth game in seven days. With a 3-5-1 league mark, the Bulls are clinging to the fifth and final BIG EAST tournament spot and should be playing with a sense of desperation.
“That is something that we have definitely thought about as a staff,” Izzo-Brown said. “We know that it is difficult to have to play three BIG EAST games in such a small time frame so we’re hoping that they are nice and tired and don’t want to play up here in Morgantown.”
On Sunday, West Virginia will face a stiff test from a Marquette team that has been a fixture in the national rankings. With a 4-2-3 conference mark, the Golden Eagles are just behind WVU at third in the American Division and they are looking to secure the third and final bye in the division for the BIG EAST tournament.
“Marquette has been in the national rankings all year long. They are a very athletic, goal-scoring team,” Izzo-Brown said. “Three of their front runners are scoring goals and then they have a kid that comes in off the bench to score goals so we know that Marquette is a very good, organized team.”
The 12th-year Mountaineer mentor likes the fact that her team will face stiff tests this weekend as it prepares for postseason play.
“We scheduled tough at the beginning of the year to play the best and I think it’s good to end the year with the best,” Izzo-Brown said. “It’s always a good indicator for our staff and for me as a coach to see what areas that maybe we have to improve on before we go into postseason play.”
Playing the best is something Izzo-Brown has always emphasized, and this year has certainly been no different. The Mountaineers went on the road and played No. 9 Virginia, beat No. 15 Penn State at home and played No. 3 Texas A&M at Penn State.
Despite the commitment to play tough non-conference foes, West Virginia has been an afterthought in the RPI rankings, coming in this week at No. 22. The RPI, which could affect NCAA tournament seeding, is a formula that mystifies Izzo-Brown.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s very frustrating. I think when you look at our strength of schedule and you look at what we have done to go out and play different teams it is very frustrating at this point,” Izzo-Brown said. “There is no perfect calculation or math for the RPI stuff so all we can do is win and worry about West Virginia soccer. That’s all my focus is on but on a side note it’s very frustrating because it doesn’t make any sense.”
The home games this weekend should be a prelude to more games at Dick Dlesk Stadium for the Mountaineers in the postseason. West Virginia will likely host a quarterfinal BIG EAST tournament match and then will serve as the host school for the semifinals Nov. 9-11.
“It’s a nice feeling to know that you can control your own destiny with being home,” Izzo-Brown said. “We are just trying to take care of what we can control right now which is obviously win these two this weekend and then take care of business and get to the BIG EAST championship.”
Friday’s 7 p.m. contest against South Florida has also been deemed Dollar Day with tickets and select concessions available for only $1 each.
Sunday’s 1 p.m. match against Marquette will serve as Senior Day for Ashley Banks, Kim Bonilla, Natalie Cocchi, Kiley Harris, and Ashley Neal as they play their last regular season match at Dick Dlesk Stadium.
“It’s been a fun crew. I think the first thing that comes to mind is hard working,” Izzo-Brown said. “All of the seniors have given so much to the program and are all such great people. They have contributed so much to the winning success of West Virginia soccer.”
