Soccer-Main-91515.jpg
No. 4 WVU Scoring Goals More Frequently in '15
September 15, 2015 05:43 PM | Women's Soccer
There is something special brewing in Morgantown, and it’s not what’s being made at the local Starbucks over on Van Voorhis Road (one of the busiest Starbucks in the country, I’m told).
Nikki Izzo-Brown has whipped up another outstanding West Virginia University soccer team that is moving up the national rankings faster than the stock market has been falling these days.
West Virginia is now fourth in one online poll and has spent most of the season ranked in the top 10 in the coaches’ poll, which has WVU seventh this week.
The 7-1 Mountaineers already have nice NCAA tournament résumé-building wins on the road at Maryland and Ohio State, and an exceptional 1-0 victory two weeks ago against Penn State, which recently knocked off top-ranked Stanford.
Just like all of the other good teams Izzo-Brown has had here through the years, this one is built on a stingy defense that hands out goals about as frequently as Donald Trump gives out compliments.
Indeed, a stout defense is in Izzo-Brown’s coaching DNA and always will be.
She has one of the best young defenders in the world in junior Kadeisha Buchanan and a backline that has surrendered only two goals so far this season - both coming in a 2-1 loss to eighth-ranked Virginia Tech back in August.
But what makes this team a little different than the others Izzo-Brown has had in the past is an offensive attack that features capable goal scorers at almost every position. The Mountaineers have scored 24 times in eight games so far this year for an average of three goals per game, which puts them among the nation’s top 10-scoring teams.
Presently, West Virginia is on pace to eclipse the school record of 55 goals scored during the 2006 season when the Mountaineers won 14 games and captured a Big East divisional title. That team featured 18-goal scorer Deana Everrett and three other players with six goals or more.
What's a little unusual about this team is that goals are coming from just about everyone.
Ten different players have already put their names on the score sheet, and two of the better offensive players on last year’s squad - Leah Emaus and Kelsie Maloney - have yet to score.
For those familiar with Izzo-Brown’s West Virginia teams, that is certainly something worth paying attention to. Yes, teams know when they play the Mountaineers they are always in for a tough, physical, low-scoring affair.
But the one knock on West Virginia, particularly in postseason play of late, has been its inability to put the ball in the back of the net in tight games.
In last year’s first-round NCAA tournament game against Georgetown, WVU failed to score and ended up falling to the Hoyas on penalty kicks. In 2013, after playing a 0-0 draw to Rutgers and advancing on penalty kicks, the Mountaineers were blanked in a disappointing second-round loss to Virginia Tech.
Izzo-Brown
In fact, West Virginia’s offense has managed only one goal in its last five NCAA tournament matches dating back to 2011, that lone tally coming in a 2-1 defeat to Princeton.
Blanking the Mountaineers in either the regular season or in post-season play this year is going to take a pretty special defensive effort, however.
“In our attack everybody is solid,” admitted Izzo-Brown in her annual mid-September raspy voice.
Scoring in soccer is no different than scoring in football, basketball, baseball, volleyball or whatever sport requires points to win – you need playmakers.
You can design the greatest plays and schemes in the world, but if you don’t have explosive playmakers on the football field, power hitters on the diamond or accurate shooters on the hardwood, it doesn’t matter what type of system you run.
It’s the same deal on the pitch, and all indications point to West Virginia having some big-time finishers around the goal.
“I think since day one of the season we’ve been able to create a lot of chances and we’re able to put the ball in front of the net and create those windows more than probably in the past,” Izzo-Brown noted. “Now, it’s just a matter of finishing those opportunities.”
Senior forward Kailey Utley gets a lot of attention because of her 15 points and five goals, but sophomore Michaela Abam is the player every defense must mark because of her explosiveness around the net. The 2014 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year leads the team with seven goals and has the green light to hunt for scoring chances at any opportunity.
More importantly, Abam, at 5-feet-8 inches, is a little taller than some of the big-time scorers Izzo-Brown has had in the past, meaning goals don’t necessarily have to come from her feet.
Freshman Nia Gordon, the team’s third-leading scorer, produced 59 goals in high school and came to WVU as one of the more heavily touted players in the country.
And, 800 words into this, we’re finally getting around to mentioning junior forward Ashley Lawrence, Buchanan’s teammate on Team Canada in last summer’s World Cup.
Even the compliment-averse Izzo-Brown admits this might be one of the deepest teams she’s had at WVU.
“This team has such potential and if we continue to get better every day … if everyone does their job, and does what they’re supposed to do, definitely it will be a very special team,” she grudgingly conceded.
Izzo-Brown said this year’s group is already special in one respect – team chemistry.
“It’s incredible,” she said. “I had to put my iPhone on (and listen to music) to get some work done coming back from Ohio State last week because they sang for three hours. The kids really just enjoy each other and want to celebrate each other’s successes and that’s so important.”
Equally important for this team is what it can achieve in November when champions are made. Izzo-Brown believes this group has what it takes to make a deep postseason run, especially in those tight games when goals are much more difficult to score.
“This team wants to separate itself,” she said, “You have seniors that have been involved in conference championships and it is such a competitive group. You love that because as much as they’re sisters in the program and they want the program to succeed, they want to separate this 2015 team and make it a special team because they are so competitive.
“And I want to jump on that bus and go with them.”
Even if that means listening to them sing all the way to wherever they're going.
Nikki Izzo-Brown & Alicia Riggins | Wagner Postgame | Nov. 14
Saturday, November 15
Nikki Izzo-Brown | Nov. 10
Monday, November 10
WSOC | Cincinnati Cinematic Recap
Friday, October 31
Ajanae Respass | Cincinnati Postgame | Oct. 30
Thursday, October 30
