WACO, Texas – Junior midfielder Ashley Lawrence has had a big week.

 

The Toronto native earned her first career Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week honor on Oct. 27. The award followed a two-assist performance from Lawrence in the No. 2-ranked Mountaineers’ 2-1 overtime victory at Oklahoma State on Oct. 23.

 

Lawrence was all over the field one week ago, making brilliant individual plays in order to jump-start WVU’s scoring chances.

 

One thing Lawrence could not do? Earn a shot. It marked only the second time in 17 games the Canadian National Team member was denied a look at the net.

 

No big deal, according to 20-year Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown.

 

“I think that every player has strengths on this team, and Ashley is just a warrior at midfield,” she said of her three-year starter. “Ashley can run from 18 to 18 and not miss a beat. Her play was the icing on the cake for us last Friday. She took over the midfield and made sure that she did everything she could to make sure we were successful.

 

“I don’t know how many hits Ashley took last week, but she just kept standing up. To her credit, if you knock Ashley down, you’re going to pay the price. She made sure Oklahoma State paid the price for the hits they dealt last week, and I was proud of her play.”  

 

“Oklahoma State posed some challenges for us – they had man-markers and were very physical,” Lawrence recalled. “We had to adapt to that, and for me, it was a 1v1 battle with the player that was on me. I knew once I got past that pressure there would be a lot of space and I would be able to contribute and spread the ball to my teammates.”

 

Lawrence now shows a team-best seven helpers on the season and ranks No. 2 in the Big 12 Conference. The seven assists match her season total from 2014. She has tallied 18 career assists in three seasons and needs two more to break onto the Mountaineer all-time career assists list.

 

A win or a draw at Baylor tonight would give WVU (15-1-1, 6-0-1) its second straight unbeaten season in Big 12 play, and its third since joining the conference in 2012. If that should happen, WVU would be the first team ever to record three unbeaten Big 12 conference seasons.

 

The Mountaineers only had one unbeaten season in the Big East Conference – 2002. WVU went 5-0-1 against league foes en route to its first-ever conference regular-season title. The Mountaineers also advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round for the first time that year.

 

For the second straight week, the Mountaineers will enter a hostile environment and face a team on a mission.

 

Though WVU is the outright Big 12 Conference champion and Baylor (9-5-3, 4-1-2) is locked in as the No. 2 seed for next week’s Big 12 Soccer Championship, coach Nikki Izzo-Brown knows the Bears will be on the hunt tonight.

 

“We know that we have the target on our back, and we understand that so many teams have so much to gain by beating us,” Izzo-Brown explained of a BU team that, in all likelihood, still needs to do work to earn a bid for the NCAA Tournament. “We understand what we need to protect, but we also understand what we could gain by beating Baylor.”

 

The Mountaineers were in a similar position last week at Oklahoma State. At the time, the Cowgirls owned a 1-2-2 mark in Big 12 play and looked to gain momentum for the final stretch of the regular season with a win over the Mountaineers. WVU knew that a victory against OSU would clinch at least a share of its fourth straight Big 12 title.

 

The first half played like a chess match, with both teams being careful with their chances amidst physical play. Carla Portillo broke the scoreless play in the 66th minute, but the Cowgirls knotted the match at 1-1 just five minutes later, capitalizing on a Mountaineer miscue deep in their own end.

 

The match suddenly turned more frenzied, with the Cowgirls hoping to pin the Mountaineers in a hole with a second goal. WVU had other thoughts.

 

“Every team we have played this year has, at some point, tried to disrupt the way we play,” Izzo-Brown said. “I liked how our team showed grit last week after OSU’s goal. We were ready to respond to the goal and get the win. This team’s grit and determination were both aspects I was really pleased with.”

 

WVU locked in after the goal, outshooting OSU 6-2, including a 3-0 edge in overtime. Senior forward Kailey Utley tallied her third game-winner in as many games with a goal in the 94th minute, securing the Mountaineers’ Big 12 championship.

 

The Mountaineers will earn their frequent-flyer miles this weekend.

 

WVU flew from Pittsburgh to Dallas yesterday, then bussed 114 miles to Waco. The squad will fly back to Pittsburgh Saturday morning, practice at Dreamswork Field Sunday, then fly from Pittsburgh to Kansas City, Missouri, Monday afternoon for the 2015 Big 12 Soccer Championship.

 

Izzo-Brown knows Sunday will be important for the team’s rest, recovery and preparation for a possible three-game stint in Kansas City.

 

“I think everyone on this team is looking forward to postseason play,” she said. “We need to regroup Saturday and Sunday before we fully turn our attention to postseason play. Those two days will go far in our recovery. We’re looking forward to the weekend – closing the chapter on the regular season and opening the postseason chapter.”

 

The 2015 Big 12 Soccer Championship bracket will be released this evening following the final four conference matches.

 

The top-three seeds are locked, with WVU at No. 1, BU at No. 2 and Texas at No. 3. Iowa State has been eliminated from the championship.

 

 

Don’t forget – the Mountaineers will kick tonight at Betty Lou Mays Field at 8 p.m. ET. FOX Sports Plus will broadcast the match. You can follow along with live scores, too.

 

Let’s Go, Mountaineers!