Women's Soccer: BIG EAST Play Resumes
September 23, 2009 04:15 PM | General
By Tim Goodenow for MSNsportsNET.com
September 23, 2009
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| Coach Izzo-Brown |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia women’s soccer team resumes BIG EAST play by playing host to Marquette Thursday, Sept. 24. Kickoff at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.
West Virginia is coming off a 1-0 win over Tennessee in its final non-conference match of the season. The Mountaineer offense registered 27 shots, a season-high, and tied a season best with 11 shots on-goal. The shutout was the fourth of the season for WVU’s defense which has allowed only five goals in nine matches this season.
Marquette comes to town winning seven of its last eight matches, with the loss coming from North Carolina – the nation’s No. 1 team. The Golden Eagles began conference play last weekend with a 2-1 win over USF.
“Tomorrow night will be a battle,” says WVU coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “They are physical, deep in numbers and very well coached.”
The Golden Eagles are led by 14th-year coach Markus Roeders, who has guided his teams to seven NCAA tournament appearances. Marquette sports a 7-2-0 record with six shutouts this season.
Senior Becky Ryan and sophomore Rachael Sloan lead the Marquette offense with seven points apiece. And nine different players have recorded a goal this season for MU. Sophomore goalkeeper Natalie Kulla has made 27 stops and allowed only four goals in all 817 minutes of action.
The Mountaineers have won three straight BIG EAST division titles with the Golden Eagles finishing second in the standings in two of the past three seasons. Marquette was part of the BIG EAST Conference expansion in 2005.
West Virginia leads the all-time series with a 4-0 mark, including a 2-0 edge in contests in Morgantown. In their last meeting, the Mountaineers defeated Marquette, 2-0, a season ago at Valley Fields in Milwaukee.
Thursday’s match begins a stretch of five of six BIG EAST home matches for the Mountaineers.
