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No. 2 WVU Opens Big 12 Championship
November 03, 2015 02:39 PM | Women's Soccer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The No. 2-ranked and top-seeded West Virginia University women’s soccer team opens the 2015 Big 12 Soccer Championship against No. 8-seed Oklahoma State on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 12:30 p.m. ET, at Swope Soccer Village.
The Mountaineers (15-1-1, 6-0-1) are the two-time defending tournament champions. WVU secured its fourth straight outright Big 12 Conference regular-season title with a 2-1 overtime win at Oklahoma State on Oct. 23. The Mountaineers are the first team in Big 12 history to win four consecutive outright conference titles and the first to finish unbeaten against league foes in three different seasons.
WVU is 5-1-1 all-time in Big 12 Conference Championship games. After bowing out of the 2012 championship in the quarterfinals, the Mountaineers are unbeaten in their last six matches and are the only WVU team to win a Big 12 Championship title. Dating back to its days in the Big East Conference, WVU has won five conference tournament championships since 2007.
“We have leadership and seniors that have been through this for the last three years and they can really guide some of our younger players moving forward; I’m very fortunate I can rely on them,” said Nikki Izzo-Brown, the four-time reigning Big 12 Coach of the Year. “We know what’s at stake – it’s one and done. I’m fortunate I have an experienced team that understands the consequences.”
Wednesday’s match is WVU’s first in 12 days, as the team’s Oct. 30 match at Baylor was canceled due to rain.
“It was very unfortunate we couldn’t get that game in – we were very much looking forward to playing Baylor,” explained Izzo-Brown. “They are the championship’s No. 2 seed, and we are the No. 1 seed, and it would have been a great chance for us to play a different look and a different team prior to going into the tournament.
“Rest is always a great tool to have moving into the postseason, and we’re going to take advantage of that.”
The Mountaineers and the Cowgirls (9-8-2, 2-4-2) have met only once at the Big 12 Soccer Championship, with WVU earning its first conference championship crown with a 1-0 victory in the tournament final on Nov. 10, 2013, at Swope Soccer Village. Then-freshman Ashley Lawrence tallied the game-winner in the 72nd minute. Sara Keane made a career-high nine saves for WVU, while then-freshman Michela Ongaro stopped four for OSU. The Cowgirls earned a 10-5 edge in corner kicks.
WVU and OSU have met five times since 2012, with the Mountaineers earning a one-goal victory in each contest. The teams have played two straight overtime matches, with WVU earning a 2-1 double-overtime win on Oct. 24, 2014, in Morgantown, as well as the 2-1 overtime victory in Stillwater, Oklahoma, last month.
“Oklahoma State is a very talented team, and they have some great athletes and some great soccer players,” said Izzo-Brown. “This is a very well-matched game. We have a lot of respect for OSU and what they have done in the Big 12, and we know they will continue to play at a high level.”
The Mountaineers ride a 15-match unbeaten streak into Wednesday’s contest. The squad ranks No. 2 nationally with 13 shutouts, one short of the program record. Additionally, WVU is the only team nationally to rank in the top five in shutout percentage (No. 1, 0.765) and scoring offense (No. 4, 2.71).
Anchored by three-time reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Kadeisha Buchanan, the WVU defense has allowed just five goals all year and only three since a 2-1 defeat to No. 11/13 Virginia Tech on Aug. 23. Senior goalkeeper Hannah Steadman is credited with 10 of the team’s clean sheets and ranks No. 3 in the NCAA with a 0.314 goals-against average.
A trio of All-Big 12 First Team honorees pace the Mountaineer offense. Senior forward Kailey Utley ranks No. 1 in the Big 12 in points (24 on 9 G, 6 A) and game-winning goals (6). Sophomore forward Michaela Abam is No. 1 in goals (10), and Lawrence, a junior midfielder, ranks No. 2 in assists (7).
Of note, the Mountaineers maintained their No. 2 ranking in today’s National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Poll. WVU’s position is its best in program history. Virginia continues to rank No. 1, while Stanford is No. 3, Florida State is No. 4 and Florida is No. 5.
The Cowgirls closed the 2015 regular season with a 2-1 loss at Oklahoma on Oct. 30. Slotted at No. 3 in the 2015 Big 12 Conference Soccer Preseason Poll, OSU went 4-2-2 in October, with two of the victories coming against nonconference opponents.
Junior forward Courtney Dike, a 2015 All-Big 12 Second Team honoree, paces the Cowgirls in goals (5), assists (7) and points (17). Senior midfielder Allie Stephenson, the lone OSU All-Big 12 First Team honoree, also shows five goals on the season.
Ongaro, a redshirt-sophomore, has made 57 saves on the season and posted five shutouts. She ranks No. 7 in the Big 12 with a 1.151 goals-against average.
Should the Mountaineers win Wednesday, they will face the winner of Oklahoma – Texas Tech on Friday, Nov. 6, at 6:30 p.m. ET, at Swope Soccer Village.
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