No. 8 WSoc to Battle Texas in Big 12 Semifinal
November 06, 2014 04:13 PM | General
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The Mountaineers are one win away from making their fourth conference championship title match appearance in five years.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks Photo |
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The No. 8-ranked West Virginia University women’s soccer team continues its quest for a second straight Big 12 Soccer Championship title with a bout against fifth-seeded Texas on Friday, Nov. 7, at 6:30 p.m. ET, at Swope Soccer Village.
A free live stream of the match can be viewed at HERE, with Lincoln Rose on the call.
The top-seeded Mountaineers (15-2-2, 7-0-1) carry a 16-match unbeaten streak into tomorrow night’s contest. WVU earned the right to advance with a 2-1 defeat of eighth-seeded TCU on Nov. 5. The squad will be making its ninth conference championship semifinal appearance in the last 10 seasons.
The conference’s first semifinal match Friday night features the lone top-seeded team still standing, as No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 3 Kansas and No. 4 Texas Tech all suffered losses Wednesday.
UT knocked out the Red Raiders yesterday in a penalty kick shootout. Knotted at 1-1 after 110 minutes of play, the Longhorns advanced on a 6-5 penalty kick edge.
“Texas is a team that can be very dangerous,” said Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “(Coach) Angela (Kelly) does a great job of getting her team ready and prepared for games. When we played them in September, we found a way to score even though they put a lot of pressure on us. It’s going to be a battle Friday.”
The Mountaineers and the Longhorns (10-7-3, 4-4) meet for the first time since WVU scored a 2-0 win in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 28; the victory was the squad’s first of seven straight Big 12 wins. WVU is 3-1 all-time against UT, and tomorrow night’s match will be the squads’ first meeting in the championship.
WVU relied on a strong defensive effort in the teams’ first meeting, as the Mountaineers withstood 10 second-half shots from the Longhorns, including seven on-frame. Junior Hannah Steadman made a season-high six saves in the victory, and sophomore Kadeisha Buchanan, the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, came up with a key team save. Junior forward Kelsie Maloney scored the game-winner in the 43rd minute, and sophomore midfielder Ashley Lawrence added an insurance goal in the 62nd minute. The Mountaineers challenged UT’s Abby Smith, an All-Big 12 First Team honoree, with nine shots on-goal.
“Every team has made a few tweaks as the season has progressed, so we know they’ve changed personalities around and made adjustments from September,” Izzo-Brown explained. “Abby is a huge piece to their success, and trying to get the ball past her is always a big problem. They’ve only gotten better since we last saw them.”
The Mountaineers dominate the conference’s offensive statistical categories and rank first in scoring offense (2.37 goals/game), points (6.68 per game), shots (21.37 per game) and assists (1.95 per game). The team’s defense ranks near the top of the league, too, as the Mountaineers are No. 2 in goals allowed (0.79 per game) and shutouts (9).
Two goals off the bench helped WVU move past TCU on Wednesday. Junior midfielder Leah Emaus put WVU on the board in the 44th minute, and freshman forward Michaela Abam, the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, chipped in the game-winner in the 68th minute. Abam’s goal was her team-best fourth game-winner of the season and put her season score total at a team-high eight, the fourth-best total in the Big 12. Lawrence had the helper on both scores and ranks No. 2 in the conference with a team-best seven assists.
Steadman made three saves in the win, with the Horned Frogs’ goal coming off a Bobbi Clemmer penalty kick in the 72nd minute.
“We came out firing yesterday, and it just took us a bit to find the back of the net,” Izzo-Brown reflected. “We had a ton of opportunities, and we’ll look to capitalize on our chances tomorrow.”
The Longhorns came back from a 1-0 deficit in yesterday’s quarterfinal penalty kick shootout to move past the Red Raiders, stringing together six successful shots. Junior Chantale Campbell tallied the UT score, and Smith made three saves.
Smith ranks No. 3 in the conference in save percentage (0.816) and No. 7 in goals-against (0.97). Forward Olivia Brook paces with 14 points (6 G, 2 A).
The winner of tomorrow’s match will face the winner of No. 6 Oklahoma – No. 7 Baylor in the title match on Sunday, Nov. 9, at 4:30 p.m. ET. The match will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1.
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