Women's Soccer: WVU To Open 2007 Slate On Friday
August 30, 2007 05:17 PM | General
By Tim Goodenow for MSNsportsNET.com
August 30, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s soccer team opens the 2007 campaign with a pair of games this weekend. WVU will play host to Bowling Green on Friday, Aug. 31, at 7 p.m. and will travel to Virginia for a match on Sunday, Sept. 2, at 2 p.m.
The Mountaineers and Falcons will meet for the first time since 1998 with WVU holding a 2-0 lead in the all-time series. BGSU is led by 11th-year coach Andy Richards who guided his 2006 team to a 10-10-0 record. Bowling Green was picked to finish second in the 2007 Mid-American preseason coaches poll.
Friday’s contest marks just the third time the Mountaineers will open a season at home. WVU is 2-0 in home openers, a 3-1 win over Syracuse in 2000 and a 3-1 victory against Dayton in 2005.
The Mountaineers will travel to Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday for Sunday’s road opener with the ninth-ranked Cavaliers. West Virginia went 2-2-2 last season against ranked opponents. WVU is 4-5 all-time in its first road match of the year while Virginia holds a 6-1-1 advantage in the all-time series. A year ago the Cavaliers reached the NCAA tournament’s round of 16 for the sixth time in the past eight years.
West Virginia returns nine starters as it looks to repeat as BIG EAST American Division champions. Nikki Izzo-Brown begins her 12th season as head coach of the Mountaineers and has led her teams to seven straight NCAA tournament appearances.
