Emaus Expects Battle in Big 12
September 26, 2014 10:38 AM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Junior Leah Emaus knows the No. 13 West Virginia University women’s soccer team is walking around with a large target on its back.
“We have a target on our back – absolutely,” the Webster, New York, native said of the two-time reigning conference champion Mountaineers. “Finishing off the Big 12 two years in a row and going for our third straight win, I think (teams) are going to want to beat us. We have to take it game-by-game. There’s going to be a physical piece to it every single time, but we just need to put the ball in the back of the net to finish off every single team for the tournament.”
Emaus has done her part leading into the conference season, as the midfielder paces WVU with a team-best four goals and eight points. She is playing a new role this season, coming off the bench and adding a spark to the Mountaineers’ attack. She played outside back her first two years at WVU, and while she is adding points this season, she knows that the Mountaineers’ future success rests with their defense.
“Defense wins championships,” Emaus added. “You have to get a shutout in order to be that best team, and we have to prove that in the Big 12.”
Through 10 matches, the Mountaineers (7-2-1) show four shutouts, three credited to junior goalkeeper Hannah Steadman. WVU also showed four shutouts through 10 matches in 2013 and finished the year with 10 clean sheets, including three straight at the Big 12 Soccer Tournament.
Emaus is expecting a battle from the Horned Frogs (7-3) this evening. In fact, she’s preparing for a physical battle throughout conference play.
“It’s the Big 12, and they’re going to bring a physical game,” she said. “TCU beat us in (2012). We’re going to go there with an aggressive mentality, and I think they’re going to want to play a Big 12 game. We’re going to have to adapt to that because now we’re playing in conference.”
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Despite winning the regular-season title in its first two years competing in the Big 12 Conference, WVU knows it won’t be easy to win its third straight championship.
“It’s huge – there’s parity throughout the league this year,” Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “Any given day, any Big 12 team can beat anyone. That’s a testament to the strength of the conference this year. We have to bring our best for 90 minutes every game.”
A total of 88.9 percent of Big 12 teams have winning percentages of .600 or better – the highest mark of any conference in the nation. Additionally, the conference owns a .690 win percentage against nonconference opponents, its best total since 2011.
Texas Tech (9-0), the only team to defeat the Mountaineers in a conference regular-season game, is ranked No. 6 entering Big 12 play. Kansas (9-1) is ranked No. 18, and Oklahoma (5-3-2) fell out of the national polls this week. The Big 12 has had four teams in the top 25 for two of the last three weeks, marking the first time since Aug. 25, 2009, that four Big 12 teams were ranked.
WVU faces two tough outs this weekend, too, as TCU rides a six-match win streak into tonight’s match, while Texas (5-3-2) played No. 1 UCLA, the reigning NCAA Champion, tight in a 1-0 loss on Sept. 19.
“We want to attack, we want to be proactive and we want to control our own destiny,” Izzo-Brown said of starting conference play with a win. “It’s so important that we get points on the road this weekend.”
The Mountaineers entered the season as the conference coaches’ unanimous pick to win the regular-season crown, while TTU was picked No. 2 and Oklahoma State was selected No. 3. Also picked No. 1 in 2013, WVU was the seventh team to win the Big 12’s regular-season crown as the preseason favorite.
WVU owns a 14-1-1 all-time mark in Big 12 play. The squad is only the third program in conference history to win back-to-back regular-season titles.
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Remember when the Mountaineers were searching for goals just two weeks ago? It seems the squad has hit its stride, as the team has netted four goals in three straight victories: 4-1 wins over Duquesne (Sept. 14) and La Salle (Sept. 19), and a 4-0 win over Villanova (Sept. 21). WVU last scored four or more goals in three consecutive games in 2006.
Career-best individual efforts are helping WVU find the back of the net, as Emaus and freshman forward Michaela Abam, the reigning Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, scored twice against La Salle and Villanova, respectively.
This season marks the first time since 2010 that three different Mountaineers have netted two goals in one game, as senior forward Kate Schwindel also scored twice in WVU’s 3-2 win over Missouri on Aug. 24, matching her career-best effort.
Since 2010, WVU has had 16 instances where one Mountaineer has netted two goals in one game, including five two-goal performances in 2012. The WVU single-game goal record is three, hit by seven different Mountaineers nine times. Ashley Banks (at Georgetown, 2007) was the last to reach the benchmark.
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Following this weekend’s matches, the Mountaineers will break from action until a showdown against the No. 6 Red Raiders on Friday, Oct. 10, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. Block the night on your calendar now, as the match is a designated “Dollar Night,” and all tickets, hot dogs, popcorn and Coca-Colas will be available for $1 each. Additionally, the first 100 Mountaineer Maniacs will receive a Maniac soccer scarf.
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