MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – When a record-setting season abruptly ends just short of expectations, coaches, student-athletes, support staff and fans are left with questions that begin with “what if” and thoughts that follow a “maybe.”

 

Such was the case when the No. 2-seeded West Virginia University women’s soccer team stumbled in a 2-0 defeat at top-seeded Penn State on Saturday, Nov. 28, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.

 

At the time of the defeat, 20-year Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said, “It’s hard not to think about and celebrate the 19 wins – it’s just that this last loss hurts a whole lot more than those 19 wins. I’m in a moment where it’s tough to think about right now. We’ll have a great opportunity to celebrate just how special this team was this season. In no way do these 90 minutes sum up this this season. We had a lot of great and special moments.”

 

As disappointed as she was in the early evening hours in University Park, Pennsylvania, coach Izzo-Brown was right – there were a lot of “great and special moments” that surrounded the Mountaineers throughout the 2015 season. Now, 12 days removed from the sudden loss to the Nittany Lions – the eventual 2015 College Cup champions – she has had time to digest the last four months of WVU women’s soccer and has circled back to the buzz word of 2015 – special.

 

“This was a special season,” she said without hesitation. “I think we used the word ‘special’ all year long, and when you use that word, it means you’ve put yourself in a category that is different than any other team, and that is what this team did this year. It broke records and it accomplished many of the goals set early in preseason. As a coach, for me to feel like we achieved success, I have to see that we accomplished the goals this team set out to do, and I think we hit the majority of them.”

 

The Mountaineers entered the year with lofty expectations. A veteran-laden group brimming with competitiveness, the team wanted to separate itself from those that preceded. At the conclusion of preseason camp, the team wrote out a long list of goals that included setting the program shutout and goals record, as well as returning to the Elite Eight and earning a bid to the program’s first College Cup, among other expectations.

 

Of those four goals, three were hit, with only the last loss preventing the fourth.

 

“At the end of the year, you go back and reevaluate what you set out to do. I don’t believe we hit every single one of our goals, but as a group, we’ll look back and measure the hits and the misses,” Izzo-Brown, the four-time reigning Big 12 Coach of the Year, explained. “I know that this group will look and recognize that while there were some misses, such as winning the Big 12 Championship title, we still hit 98 percent of what we set out to achieve.”

 

Izzo-Brown deflects the credit for the success rate, placing it squarely on her team’s shoulders.  

 

“I think that the chemistry of this team, the leadership of this team and the focus of this team was all there this year,” she said. “We talk about everyone being ‘in,’ and there was no one on this team that didn’t know what the goals were or what she had to do for us to stay on task. They all did everything they could to stay focused on what was best for the team.

 

“You look at our senior group, and this was an extremely competitive group. We had these six special seniors (Maggie Bedillion, Leah Emaus, Amanda Hill, Kelsie Maloney, Hannah Steadman and Kailey Utley) that showed everyone what it took to be the best. They are competitive in everything they do – they set the standard of excellence for the team this year, and that helped fuel the motivation for everyone else.”  

 

The Mountaineer “standard of excellence” resulted in program season records for shutouts (15), goals (61) and wins (19). It pushed WVU (19-3-1, 6-0-1) to its fourth straight Big 12 Conference regular-season title, its 16th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its long-awaited return to the Elite Eight.

 

The only coach to lead the WVU women’s soccer program, Izzo-Brown never took much time to reflect on her 20 seasons with the Mountaineers. Now, with her focus and attention turning to the future and season No. 21, she closes the chapter on the “special” 20th season with extra admiration for the West Virginia soccer family.

 

“The wins and losses are important, but it’s the relationships that mean the most for me,” Izzo-Brown said. “In any family, nothing is perfect, but you always have your family and you are always going to support your family. That’s what we saw this year. There are so many people that built this program; it’s never about one person. So many people supported this team this year and enjoyed the success we achieved because they knew how much they gave during their years at WVU and they still believe in this program and want the Mountaineers to succeed.”

 

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The Mountaineers made their 16th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the seventh-longest active streak in the nation. WVU earned a No. 2 seed in the University Park region, the highest NCAA seed in program history.

 

WVU finished with a 3-1 mark in the 2015 NCAA Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight, the program’s second quarterfinal appearance and first since 2007. The Mountaineers now show a 15-15-2 all-time record in NCAA Tournament play.

 

The Mountaineers opened the tournament with three straight wins at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. WVU earned 4-0 victories over Duquesne and Northwestern on Nov. 13 and Nov. 20, respectively, before disposing of a plucky Loyola Marymount squad on Nov. 22 by a score of 5-2. The victory over the Dukes was the Mountaineers’ first in the NCAA Tournament since 2010. WVU’s tournament run ended with a 2-0 defeat at No. 1-seed and eventual National Champion Penn State on Nov. 28.

 

The 13 goals scored were a program high for a tournament run. WVU’s five goals in the third-round win over LMU were a program single-game high for the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, the team’s shutouts against the Dukes and the Wildcats marked the second time in program history WVU posted back-to-back shutouts in the NCAA Tournament.

 

The Mountaineers finished the 2015 season ranked No. 7 in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) NCAA Division I Women’s National Poll and the TopDrawerSoccer.com Top 25 Poll. The position was the team’s best postseason ranking in both polls.

 

WVU was ranked in the top five of the NSCAA Poll each week since Sept. 22, and within the top 10 each week since Sept. 8. The Mountaineers reached as high as a program-best No. 2 on Oct. 27 and held the position for two weeks. The squad sat at No. 4 in the final poll of the regular season.

 

With a 2-1 overtime victory at Oklahoma State on Oct. 23, the Mountaineers clinched the 2015 Big 12 Conference regular-season title, their fourth straight. The Mountaineers have won the title each season since joining the Big 12 in 2012, and WVU is the only program to win four straight outright championships; Texas A&M won four straight titles from 2004-07, but its first was not an outright win. Also the 2015 Big 12 preseason favorite, WVU’s accomplishment marks the ninth time in Big 12 history the preseason favorite in the coaches poll also won the title. The Mountaineers own a 27-1-3 all-time record in Big 12 play are unbeaten at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

 

Dating back to its days in the Big East Conference, WVU has won five straight conference regular-season crowns and nine since its first title in 2002. WVU has won nine regular season and championship conference titles in six seasons and 14 since 2002. 

 

With its 1-0 win against No. 5/7 Penn State on Sept. 4 in Morgantown, WVU has defeated at least one top-10 team in each of the last 11 seasons. WVU is 13-11-2 against top-10 teams and 22-27-8 against all ranked opponents since 2005.

 

Building off the success it achieved throughout the 2014 season, WVU extended its program-record unbeaten streak to 20 with a 2-0 win against SIUE in the 2015 season opener on Aug. 21, at Indiana’s Hoosier Classic. The streak stopped with the Mountaineers’ 2-1 loss to No. 11/13 Virginia Tech on Aug. 23. The defeat was the team’s first since dropping a 2-0 decision to No. 21 Duke on Aug. 29, 2014, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

 

The Mountaineers also put together a 16-match unbeaten streak this season, going 15-0-1 following their early 2-1 loss to the Hokies. The streak was halted with the team’s 1-0 loss to No. 18 Texas Tech in the 2015 Big 12 Soccer Championship semifinal on Nov. 6.

 

The Mountaineers have developed a true home field advantage, going 100-16-13 at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium since its opening in August 2004. The team’s 100th victory at DDSS was memorable, as WVU defeated Loyola Marymount, 5-2, on Nov. 22, 2015, to advance to the NCAA Elite Eight for the second time in program history.

 

The Mountaineers are unbeaten in their last 25 straight home matches and have not dropped a contest since a 2-0 loss to No. 21 Duke on Aug. 29, 2014.

 

WVU posted two top-15 attendance marks at DDSS in 2015, with a season-high 1,617 on hand to cheer the Mountaineers to a 2-0 win over Texas on Sept. 25.

 

Big 12 or Big East, one fact has remained constant for the Mountaineers since 2009 - they do not lose home conference matches. WVU shows a 30-match unbeaten streak in conference games at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium and has not dropped a league contest since losing 3-2 in overtime to No. 8 Notre Dame on Oct. 2, 2009. WVU is 15-0-1 in all-time home Big 12 matches and finished 4-0 against Big 12 opponents in Morgantown this year.  

 

The Mountaineers’ 2015 regular-season schedule featured five first-time opponents: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), Maryland, Longwood, Buffalo and Florida Gulf Coast. WVU went 5-0 against the field, defeating SIUE 2-0 on Aug. 21, at Indiana’s Hoosier Classic, Maryland 1-0 on Aug. 28, at Ludwig Field, in College Park, Maryland, Longwood 4-0 on Sept. 13, Buffalo, 1-0 (OT) on Sept. 18 and Florida Gulf Coast 1-0, on Sept. 20, all at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

 

WVU also earned a 4-0 win against Northwestern in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Second Round on Nov. 20, the first-ever meeting between the two schools, giving WVU a 6-0 mark against first-time opponents this year.

 

In the program’s 20-year history, the Mountaineers have faced 106 different teams.

 

Five Mountaineers earned their first career starts this season - forward Nia Gordon, midfielder Carla Portillo and defenders Bianca St. Georges, Easther Mayi Kith and Hannah Abraham. In total, WVU’s roster featured 16 players with at least one career start to their name. 

 

Raising awareness for breast cancer research is a cause close to coach Izzo-Brown, and each year, she and the Mountaineers raise funds for Morgantown’s Betty Puskar Breast Care Center. This season, WVU donated a check for $8,647 at halftime of the WVU-TCU contest on Oct. 2.

 

WVU passed the $100,000 threshold in 2013. In 12 years, the Mountaineers have raised more than $120,000 for breast cancer research.

 

The Mountaineers resembled a brick wall in 2015, allowing a combined 143 shots, with only 59 on-frame, for a 0.077 opponent shot percentage. Fourteen of WVU’s 19 wins came via a shutout, including 1-0 victories at Maryland on Aug. 28 and against No. 5/7 Penn State on Sept. 4, and a 2-0 win at RV/15 Ohio State on Sept. 11. WVU posted a program single-season record 15 shutouts, the third-best mark in the NCAA. WVU allowed just 11 goals all year and 44 corner kicks. The squad ended the year ranked No. 5 nationally in goals-against average (0.471) and shutout percentage (0.652).

 

The 11 goals allowed are the fewest in program history. The previous WVU record for fewest opponent goals scored in a season is 13 (2008, 2006, 2002).

 

The Mountaineers denied Longwood a shot in a 4-0 win on Sept. 13, marking the second time in as many seasons and the fifth time in program history that WVU denied an opponent a shot. The team also denied four opponents a shot on-goal this year.

 

Following a 2-1 loss to No. 11/13 Virginia Tech on Aug. 23, WVU put together a program-record nine-match shutout streak. The streak was halted by a TCU goal in the 27th minute in WVU’s 2-1 win over the Horned Frogs on Oct. 2, in Morgantown. WVU previously compiled two seven-match shutout streaks, once in 1996, the program’s first season, and in 2002.

 

As spectacular as the Mountaineer defense was this season, the WVU offense was just as special. The Mountaineers set the program single-season goal record in their 4-0 victory over Northwestern on Nov. 20, and the team finished with 61 goals, besting the previous record of 55 set in 2006. WVU finished the year ranked No. 4 nationally with a 2.65 goals/game average.

 

Fourteen different Mountaineers scored at least one goal this season, including a team-best 12 from forwards Kailey Utley and Michaela Abam. 

 

One of coach Izzo-Brown’s weekly goals was for the Mountaineers to score first each game. Izzo-Brown not only urged the Mountaineers to score first - she also wanted them to score fast.

 

WVU did just that in 2015, tallying six goals in the first four minutes, including the second-fastest score in school history, a goal by Ashley Lawrence 62 seconds into the Mountaineers’ 2-1 win over TCU on Oct. 2.

 

WVU’s six goals against Kansas on Oct. 16 were the most scored by the Mountaineers in a Big 12 Conference match. Prior to the 6-0 victory, WVU had never scored more than four goals in a Big 12 contest.

 

Tabbed the Best Young Player at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, center back Kadeisha Buchanan returned for her junior season as one of college soccer’s top talents. She anchored a WVU defense that allowed a program-low 11 goals all season and posted a team-record 15 shutouts. Buchanan also finished with five points (1 G, 3 A) and now shows 16 career points (5 G, 6 A).

 

One of the top international talents, she was among 10 players shortlisted for the 2015 Ballon d’Or Award as the FIFA Women’s Player of the Year. Buchanan was the lone defender on the list and the only athlete under the age of 20.

 

Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence were named semifinalists for the 2015 Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Hermann Trophy on Dec. 1. The award is college soccer’s version of the Heisman Trophy and represents the highest level of individual achievement in the sport.

 

The juniors are two of 15 student-athletes selected as semifinalists by a committee of Division I coaches who are NSCAA members. Buchanan was one of three defenders to land on the list, and Lawrence was one of five midfielders selected.

  

WVU and Florida are the only programs to have two players selected for the semifinal list. This is the first time in Mountaineer history that two student-athletes have been tabbed as semifinalists in the same season. Buchanan also made the semifinal cut in 2014. WVU has had at least one semifinalists each of the last three seasons. Chrissie Abbott (2003) is the team’s only finalist.

 

Just three days later, the duo were named to the NSCAA All-America First Team. The honor was the second straight first-team recognition and third career award for Buchanan, a defender and native of Brampton, Ontario. She also was named to the second team as a freshman in 2013. The award was the first career honor for Lawrence, a midfielder and native of Toronto, Ontario.

 

WVU also was one of two schools to land two student-athletes on the first team. It marked the first time in program history two Mountaineers earned NSCAA All-America First Team honors in one season. It also marked the first time since 2002-03 WVU had first-team recognitions in back-to-back seasons.

 

In total, five Mountaineers have earned six first-team honors since 2000, and Izzo-Brown has coached 12 players to 18 NSCAA All-America honors in 20 seasons.

 

Senior forward Kailey Utley emerged as the Mountaineers’ top point earner this year. She paced the team with 30 points (12 G, 6 A), the second-best total in the Big 12 and the 10th-best single-season total in program history. The point, goal and assist totals were career single-season bests. Utley also ranked No. 1 in the Big 12, No. 4 nationally, in game-winners (7), No. 2 in goals (12) and No. 4 in assists (6). Her game-winning goal at Maryland on Aug. 28 was her first career score in an opponent’s venue.

 

The Mountaineers’ top goal scorer (8) and point earner (16) as a freshman in 2014, forward Michaela Abam did not slow down in 2015, as she surpassed those totals 14 matches into the season. Abam posted a team-best 12 goals, the second-best mark in the Big 12, and 27 points, WVU’s second-best total and the third-best conference total. She sits tied with Laura Kane (2002) at No. 4 on the WVU all-time sophomore goals list.

 

Abam was awesome in the Mountaineers’ 8-0 win against Villanova on Sept. 6, scoring a program-best four goals for eight points, also a WVU record. Those single-game totals ranked No. 3 and No. 9, respectively, in the NCAA this season.

 

Senior Kailey Utley and sophomore Michaela Abam ended 2015 as one of the best scoring duos in Mountaineer history. The forwards each tallied a career-best 12 goals this year, the 10th-best single-season total in program history. The duo was the second pair in program history to score 12+ goals in one season. Chrissie Abbott (15) and Katie Barnes (12) combined for 27 goals in 2001.

 

Utley is the 11th player in program history to score 30+ points, and the first to do so since Frances Silva tallied 43 points (15 G, 13 A) in 2013.

 

The Mountaineer offense routinely flowed through junior midfielder Ashley Lawrence this season.

 

A three-time All-Big 12 First Team honoree, Lawrence tallied a team- and career-best eight assists and ranked No. 2 in the Big 12 Conference with a 0.36 per-game average. Lawrence’s career assist total stands at 19.

 

Lawrence has a lethal shot, too, and finished ranked third on the team with five goals, the 10th-best total in the Big 12.

 

Senior goalkeeper Hannah Steadman made the most of her two years at WVU, as she finished her time ranked No. 1 in the WVU career record book with a 0.59 career goals-against average (GAA). Including her three games at Tennessee, Steadman ranks No. 24 nationally, No. 3 in Division I, in career active leaders with a 0.57 career GAA. She also finished with 23 career shutouts at WVU and ranks No. 5 all-time in the Mountaineer career record book. Steadman’s 12 shutouts this season rank No. 2 in program history; the record is 14, set by Kerri Butler in 2010.

 

Two-time WVU team captain Amanda Hill was named to the Senior CLASS Award All-America Second Team on Dec. 3. She was the second Mountaineer (Kate Schwindel, 2014) in as many years to be named to the second team and the third (Frances Silva, 2013; Schwindel, 2014) to be named a candidate.

 

A starter at defensive center midfield for all 88 career matches, the third-most career starts in program history, she is pursuing degrees in exercise physiology and animal and nutritional science at WVU, while also minoring in sport and exercise psychology. Hill also has accumulated more than 750 hours of community service during her WVU career.

 

Hill finished with 29 career points (10 G, 9 A). She tallied a career-high 13 points (5 G, 3 A) this season. Hill’s career-high five goals were the team’s third-best total and ranked No. 10 in the Big 12 Conference. Additionally, she netted WVU’s game-winning goal three times this year, the fourth-best total in the Big 12.

 

Freshman forward Nia Gordon wasted little time adding to the WVU attack, as she tallied five goals, the third-best output by a Mountaineer. Three of the scores were game-winners, the fourth-best Big 12 total. Gordon’s first shot as a Mountaineer went down as a game-winner, as she scored in the 20th minute of WVU’s 2-0 win against SIUE in the season opener on Aug. 21. She tallied the team’s game-winner in an 8-0 win against Villanova on Sept. 6, 83 seconds into the match for the sixth-fastest goal in program history. Gordon’s third career game-winner was a big one, as she scored in the 49th minute in WVU’s 4-1 win at No. 16/13 Texas Tech on Oct. 11.

 

 

• All-Big 12 First Team

• Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week (9/8)

• TDS.com Team of the Week (9/8)

• WVU Student-Athlete of the Week (9/7)

• No. 57, TDS.com Midseason Top 100

• Preseason All-Big 12 Soccer Team

• No. 64, TDS.com Preseason Top 100

 

• WVU Student-Athlete of the Week (9/28)

 

• All-Big 12 First Team

 

• CoSIDA Academic All-District

 

• MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist

• NSCAA All-America First Team

• NSCAA All-Region First Team

• Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year

• All-Big 12 First Team

• Big 12 All-Tournament Team

• Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week (9/1, 9/15)

• TDS.com Team of the Week (9/1, 9/15)

• TDS.com Team of the Week Honorable Mention (11/22)

• Hoosier Classic All-Tournament Team

• No. 1, TDS.com Midseason Top 100

• Preseason All-Big 12 Soccer Team

• TDS.com Preseason Best XI First Team

• No. 1, TDS.com Preseason Top 100

 

• All-Big 12 Freshman Team

• Big 12 Freshman of the Week (8/25, 10/13)

• WVU Student-Athlete of the Week (8/24)

 

• Senior CLASS Award All-America Second Team

• CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team

• NSCAA All-Region Second Team

• All-Big 12 Second Team

• Big 12 All-Tournament Team

• CoSIDA Academic All-District

• NCAS Female PlayMaker of the Month (December)

• WVU Student-Athlete of the Week (10/19)

 

• MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist

• NSCAA All-America First Team

• NSCAA All-Region First Team

• All-Big 12 First Team

• Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week (10/27)

• Hoosier Classic All-Tournament Team

• No. 28, TDS.com Midseason Top 100

• Preseason All-Big 12 Soccer Team

• TDS.com Preseason Best XI Third Team

• No. 32, TDS.com Preseason Top 100

 

• All-Big 12 Second Team

 

• Big 12 Freshman of the Year

• All-Big 12 Second Team

• All-Big 12 Freshman Team

• TDS.com Team of the Week Honorable Mention (10/20)

 

• NSCAA All-Region Third Team

• All-Big 12 Second Team

 

• CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team

• NSCAA All-Region First Team  

• All-Big 12 First Team

• Big 12 All-Tournament Team

• CoSIDA Academic All-District

• Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week (9/1)

• TDS.com Team of the Week (11/24)

• WVU Student-Athlete of the Week (11/23)