Top 10 Triumph
September 22, 2008 04:20 PM | General
West Virginia missed its biggest women’s soccer victory in school history by mere a technicality. The Mountaineers’ 3-0 whitewash of No. 7-rated Virginia is the fourth time in school history they have defeated a Top 10-ranked team; the highest ranked WVU victim was No. 6-rated Penn State in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
But in reality Sunday’s resounding win over the Cavaliers was probably the biggest in school history and was a huge boost for Nikki Izzo-Brown’s WVU program because Virginia has always been such a big thorn in the Mountaineers’ side.
Before Sunday’s win, West Virginia had managed to beat the Cavs just once in eight tries. Twice Virginia has knocked the Mountaineers out of the NCAA Tournament.
“Virginia is the standard. They're the standard team; a top-five team,” Izzo-Brown said after the game. “I have so much respect for Steve Swanson. So for us to beat a team that is coached under Steve, and a team like that, says a lot for me and how proud I am for the team.”
Last year West Virginia finished seventh in the rankings and gave national champion USC its toughest match in the NCAA Tournament.
Where Sunday’s triumph takes West Virginia is anyone’s guess. WVU is 13th in this week’s Soccer America Poll with Soccer Buzz and the NSCAA/adidas polls coming out on Tuesday.
The Mountaineers have been in the Top 10 before (three times West Virginia has reached sixth in the polls). Now Izzo-Brown wants to keep them there.
You can read more about West Virginia in Graham Hays’ blog on ESPN.com
