By John Antonik for MSNsportsNET.com
August 6, 2010

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s soccer team has a new, state-of-the-art practice facility to train in and coach Nikki Izzo-Brown plans to get good use out of it this fall.

    Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown is beginning her 15th season with the Mountaineers in 2010.
Tim Goodenow photo

“There is no question this facility is what we needed,” said Izzo-Brown. “I think that the girls have worked extremely hard for this opportunity to have a field that we can start our season on and finish our season on. We have some things to do, still, but once we get those things done this is going to be the best facility in the country. It’s just, keep growing with it. Right now the grass and the practice area have been fantastic.”

Izzo-Brown has a much more experienced team to work with in 2010 with 18 of the 25 players on the roster either seniors, juniors or sophomores. West Virginia managed a 10-7-6 record and the school’s 10th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance despite having such a young team.

Sometimes last season the team showed its youth and inexperience and because of that, Izzo-Brown came up with the idea of having her players wear 303 t-shirts as a way of reminding them not to lose their focus during the course of a long season.

“We were in every game and we had our opportunities but it was just maybe not focusing by letting in a soft goal or not finishing a scoring opportunity,” Izzo-Brown explained. “From that it was just adding all of the numbers together. Some really smart person sent me a link showing me another coach was adding some numbers together and putting it all together to come up with that number.”

Numbers, as in the number of goals scored, are something those following Mountaineer soccer will pay close attention to this season. Last year, the Mountaineers managed just 22 goals in 23 games (and amazingly still won 10 games nonetheless) and the players have talked about coming up with ways of increasing that total significantly in 2010.

“I think it’s focus and still creating chances like we did, but in the final third finishing those opportunities and we just have to be focused when we create those opportunities,” Izzo-Brown said of the team’s scoring difficulties last year. “They’re looking at goals and I’m looking at wins so however we’ve got to do it we’ve got to do it.”

Izzo-Brown will have to figure things out pretty quickly with the season opener just two weeks away against Penn State in Morgantown. The Mountaineers will play their first scrimmage next Tuesday against Indiana and will have one final tune-up against Wake Forest next Saturday before the matches start counting.

“Penn State is going to be a top 10 team - if not a top five team - so we have to accelerate everything real quickly,” Izzo-Brown explained. “I think we’re at 15 days to get organized. Having two scrimmages definitely is going to help show us where our strengths and weaknesses are and what we have to tweak to get ready for one of the best teams in the country.”

Because the coaching staff has such a short time to get ready for its opener, preseason experimenting will be at a minimum.

“As quickly as I can we need to get a starting 11 going and get us in shape and ready to roll,” Izzo-Brown said.

Preseason Notes:

Izzo-Brown was pleased with her team’s conditioning level when they returned to campus yesterday for the start of fall training camp.

“This is probably the best fitness level our team has come back in so I’m very happy about the fitness level. Now it’s just the organization and our overall team play,” she said, adding that coaches are never happy this early in training camp.

“We never feel that we’re prepared enough so I can’t say that we are, but I can tell you the girls are working extremely hard and they’re doing everything that they can … me as their coach, I’m never satisfied but I’m pleased with their work rate,” Izzo-Brown said.

	Ashtin Larkin

Izzo-Brown is looking for older players to step up and assume leadership roles this fall. Last year players such as Carolyn Blank took on that responsibility.

“Ashtin (Larkin) has definitely realized that role and she’s learned from the best in Carolyn Blank. I think our seniors have really stepped up,” said the coach. “If it’s not (goal keeper) Kerri Butler then it’s Ashtin; (Megan) Mischler is demanding a lot from people so it’s fun for me seeing the growth of players and the leadership of players, especially as they get to be seniors.”

West Virginia is facing another difficult non-conference schedule this year with matches against Penn State, Ohio State, Central Michigan and Virginia (all NCAA tournament teams in 2009) on the docket. The Mountaineers will also be in Morgantown at the end of the year, unlike last season when WVU concluded the home portion of its schedule on Oct. 11 and needed key road results at Villanova, Connecticut and Providence just to qualify for postseason play.

“Last year with our RPI and what we were able to do over the course of the year that really helped us get into the NCAA tournament and prepare for the end of the season,” Izzo-Brown said. “Teams like Penn State, Ohio State and Virginia are preparing us for where we want to go in Big East play and at the end of the year.”

Izzo-Brown admitted the long stretch of road games at the end of the season was a great learning experience for her young team.

“Any kind of learning experience is usually when you are in a position and you’re losing so the best learning experiences are the losses,” she said. “I think early in the year last year when we were on a little bit of a rollercoaster a lot of these young players recognized when you are not focused things can start slipping. We felt that a little bit last year and that’s something we talked about in our team meeting last night.”

Izzo-Brown has two new additions on the coaching staff this year in Marisa Kanela and Cristian Materazzi. Kanela played for Izzo-Brown at WVU and moves up to full time after spending the last three seasons in Morgantown around the program. Materazzi joins the staff as the volunteer coach in charge of the keepers. He spent the previous two years working for the West Virginia Olympic Development Program after playing professionally in the United Soccer League.

West Virginia’s roster features players from 13 different states and Canada this year. Canada, Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsylvania lead the way with three players each.

Print Friendly Version