MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 4-ranked and No. 2-overall seeded West Virginia University women’s soccer team opens the 2015 NCAA Tournament against Atlantic 10 Conference champion Duquesne on Friday, Nov. 13, at 6 p.m., at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
Tickets for Friday’s first-round contest are on sale now at
WVUGAME.com. Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for students and youth, and $2 for groups of 10 or more. WVU students will be admitted for free with a valid WVU student I.D.
Due to the men’s basketball game at 7 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum, parking Friday will be extremely limited. Fans attending the soccer game can park in the Natatorium lot for free up to 6 p.m., and then a $10 charge will take effect for the Natatorium lot. Parking in all other Coliseum lots will be $10 on Friday starting at 5 p.m.
The Mountaineers (16-2-1, 6-0-1), the four-time reigning Big 12 Conference regular-season champions, make their 16th straight appearance in the tournament, the seventh-longest active streak in the nation. The squad’s No. 2 overall seed is its best seed in program history.
“There’s no question that this team is ready to be back at Dick Dlesk Stadium and playing in front of the Mountaineer faithful,” said 20-year coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “This group loves playing in Morgantown. This team is ready to refocus and advance in the tournament.”
WVU is 12-14-2 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 7-6-2 in all-time tournament matches in Morgantown. The squad looks to advance to the second round for the first time since 2013 and the 10th time in program history. Most recently, WVU played to a 0-0 draw against Georgetown in the 2014 NCAA Tournament First Round on Nov. 15, in Morgantown; the Hoyas advanced on a 6-5 edge in penalty kicks.
Friday is the second meeting this season between the Mountaineers and the Dukes (12-9-1, 5-5). The squads met in the Mountaineers’ 2015 home season opener on Aug. 30, and WVU earned a commanding 5-0 victory on the strength of four first-half goals. Senior forward Kailey Utley, junior midfielder Ashley Lawrence and freshman forward Nia Gordon each finished with one goal and one assist; WVU also received goals from sophomore forwards Michaela Abam and Amandine Pierre-Louis. WVU earned a 38-2 shot advantage, including a season-high 17 shots on-goal, and the Mountaineer defense denied the Dukes a shot on-frame.
WVU is 6-0-2 all-time against Duquesne, an NCAA Tournament newcomer.
“Duquesne is a team that enters the tournament on a roll, especially after their performance at the Atlantic 10 Championship,” said Izzo-Brown. “I know that they are going to be very motivated Friday night, especially after losing to us 5-0 in August. I expect them to come out and fight for the win.”
The Mountaineers return Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium following a 1-1 showing at the Big 12 Soccer Championship, at Swope Soccer Village, in Kansas City, Missouri. The two-time defending champions, WVU fell to No. 18-ranked Texas Tech, 1-0, on Nov. 6 in the championship semifinals, snapping its 16-match unbeaten streak.
WVU enters the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 3 nationally with 13 shutouts, the second-best season total in program history and one short of the program single-season record. The Mountaineers are the only team nationally to rank in the top seven in shutout percentage (T-No. 4, 0.684) and scoring offense (No. 7, 2.53).
Anchored by three-time reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Kadeisha Buchanan, the WVU defense has allowed just seven goals all year; no Mountaineer squad has allowed fewer than 13 opponent goals in a single season. Senior Hannah Steadman ranks No. 4 in the NCAA with a 0.390 goals-against average.
Utley paces the squad with 24 points (9 G, 6 A). She ranks No. 8 nationally with six game-winners. Abam shows a team-best 10 goals, and Lawrence has tallied seven assists on the year.
Duquesne is unbeaten in six of its last seven matches, outscoring opponents 13-8 in that span. The Dukes average 1.59 goals/game and show a 1.39 goals-against average. Freshman forward Katie O’Connor paces with 26 points (10 G, 6 A).
Seeded seventh at the 2015 Atlantic 10 Soccer Championship, the Dukes earned the conference’s automatic bid with a 2-0 win over fifth-seeded Fordham on Sunday, Nov. 8, at Davidson’s Alumni Soccer Stadium in Davidson, North Carolina. Midfielder Abby Losco scored the game-winner in the 77th minute off a set piece, and midfielder Linnea Faccenda added an insurance goal in the 85th minute. Junior Vanessa Perdomo made eight saves against Fordham and was named the Championship’s Most Outstanding Player. She finished with 29 saves in the tournament, a championship record.
The winner of Friday’s contest will meet the winner of Washington State – Northwestern on Nov. 20. The site will be based on the highest remaining seed in the second- and third-round portion of the bracket. If the Mountaineers move past the Dukes, WVU will play host to the second and third rounds at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
