No. 8 WSoc Seeks Second Big 12 Championship
November 08, 2014 04:05 PM | General
 |
|
The Mountaineer defense, led by sophomore Kadeisha Buchanan, have allowed only three goals in the last seven games.
Scott Weaver Photo |
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The No. 8-ranked West Virginia University women’s soccer team plays for its second straight Big 12 Soccer Championship title against sixth-seeded Oklahoma on Sunday, Nov. 9, at 4:30 p.m. ET, at Swope Soccer Village.
FOX Sports 1 will broadcast the match, with Dave Barnett on the call and Jessica Stamp adding color.
The Mountaineers (15-2-3, 7-0-1), the three-time reigning Big 12 Conference regular-season champions, seek their fifth Big 12 title in three seasons. Sunday is the team’s fourth conference championship final appearance in five seasons and seventh in program history. The Mountaineers are the first WVU program to make two appearances in a Big 12 Championship final.
“This team is a focused and resilient bunch,” said Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “They set out in early August with the goal of not only advancing to this championship, but winning it. I’m just going along for the ride.”
The squad rides a 17-match unbeaten streak into Sunday’s contest, one result short of the WVU record, and looks to become the first program since Oklahoma State (2009-10) to win back-to-back conference championships. Since its first conference championship final in 2001, WVU has advanced to six finals (2002, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014) and won titles each year but 2002. If WVU wins Sunday, the senior class will leave Morgantown with seven conference titles, winning two each year but 2012.
The Mountaineers won the 2013 Big 12 Soccer Championship title, their first, with a 1-0 victory over sixth-seeded Oklahoma State on Nov. 10, at Swope Soccer Village. It was the first title for any WVU team at a Big 12 Championship. Sophomore midfielder Ashley Lawrence scored in the 72nd minute, her first career game-winner. Sara Keane made a career-high nine saves, and the WVU defense turned away 10 OSU corner kicks.
Sunday is the second meeting in two weeks for WVU and OU, with the Mountaineers clinching their third straight Big 12 regular-season crown with a 3-1 win over the Sooners in Morgantown on Oct. 26. WVU is 3-0 all-time against OU, and tomorrow is the teams’ first meeting at the Big 12 Soccer Championship.
“I think the team likes the feeling of knowing what their opposition is all about,” Izzo-Brown said of the team’s recent meeting.
Both teams advanced to the Big 12 Championship final via penalty kick shootout victories Friday night.
Knotted at 0-0 against fifth-seeded Texas after 110:00 minutes of play, WVU knocked the Longhorns out of the championship on a 6-5 edge in penalty kicks. Junior Hannah Steadman earned the shutout, her ninth of the season and the team’s 10th, while redshirt-freshman Michelle Newhouse came off the bench for the shootout and turned away UT’s fourth and seventh kicks. WVU finished with a 24-10 edge in shots and a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks.
“Starting with Hannah and then on up, everyone on the defense is doing her job, and that’s what they have to continue to do,” explained Izzo-Brown. “I thought the back five were brilliant last night. Defense is going to win championships, and our defense came through for us at a critical moment. When you can’t find the back of the net, you have to make sure you get the shutout, because there’s always going to be games like that.”
Freshman forward Michaela Abam, the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, paces the Mountaineers with eight goals and 16 points. Her goal total, the fourth-best mark in the Big 12, is tied for the second-best all-time total for a WVU freshman, and her point total ranks No. 4. Lawrence is tops on the team with seven assists; she ranks No. 7 in the Big 12. The Mountaineers’ 10 shutouts match the team’s output from 2013 and are four short of the program record.
The Sooners, the second team in Big 12 history to advance to the championship final after finishing last in the preseason coaches’ poll, make their second appearance in the title match and first since 2010. OU tied Baylor 0-0 in the second semifinal Friday night before eliminating the Bears with a 3-2 edge in penalty kicks. Junior forward Devin Barrett paces with 11 points (5 G, 1 A), and Kaitlyn Fahrner shows a 0.95 goals-against average.
WVU Baseball Defensive Highlights
Tuesday, May 12
Kansas Recap
Tuesday, May 12
Kansas State Recap
Tuesday, May 12
Steve Sabins | May 11
Monday, May 11
