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No. 1 Mountaineers Ready for Red Raiders
October 13, 2016 01:09 PM | Women's Soccer
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 1-ranked West Virginia University women’s soccer team looks to push its win streak to six when the Mountaineers kick against Texas Tech on Friday, Oct. 14, at 6 p.m., at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
The first 175 fans into the stadium Friday night will receive a free “Almost Heaven” long sleeve t-shirt. Additionally, the first 75 Mountaineer Maniacs inside the gate will receive a free scarf.
Friday night is the team’s annual “Soctoberfest” celebration, and specialty German food and beverage options will be available at the concession stands. It also is “Good Student Night,” and youths 13 years and younger who bring an assignment or test with an ‘A’ on it will receive free admission.
Tickets are on sale now at WVUGAME.com. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for youths and senior citizens and $2 for groups of 10 or more. WVU students are admitted free with a valid WVU Student I.D.
“Our fans have been behind us all year thus far, and we hope they’ll come out and cheer us on,” Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “We need them to help us get through this game with their energy.”
The contest will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU and WatchESPN.
In addition to their current win streak, the Mountaineers (12-1-1, 4-0) also show a 32-match unbeaten streak at home against conference opponents. The streak, dating back to 2009, is the third-longest active streak nationally. WVU has tallied 15 straight wins in Morgantown against Big 12 Conference opponents and has posted a shutout in six of its last seven conference home contests.
Sitting at No. 1 in the NSCAA Poll for the first time in the program’s 21-year history, WVU kicks against the only Big 12 team to defeat the Mountaineers in the regular season, as the Red Raiders (8-4-2, 1-3) earned a 2-0 win on Oct. 27, 2013, in Lubbock, Texas. WVU is 31-1-3 in all-time Big 12 play.
The Mountaineers are 3-2 all-time against TTU. In the last meeting, No. 2 WVU dropped a 1-0 decision to the No. 18 Red Raiders in the 2015 Big 12 Soccer Championship semifinal on Nov. 6, at Swope Soccer Village, in Kansas City, Missouri. The loss snapped WVU’s 16-match unbeaten streak and seven-match unbeaten streak at the championship; TTU went on to win its first-ever championship title.
“This is a new team, but most of our returners understand the disappointment we felt last year losing in the Big 12 Championship, so I know that will be on many of their minds,” Izzo-Brown said. “Texas Tech is going to come hard. They’ll be organized. It’s always a great game and a battle between the two programs. They’re dynamic in the attack. We know it’s going to be a challenging game for us. Both teams are hunting for a win.”
Prior to the loss, WVU had scored four goals against TTU in both of their previous two meetings, earning a 4-1 win in Lubbock on Oct. 11, 2015, and a 4-2 victory at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium on Oct. 10, 2014.
The WVU defense has been strong as of late, positing a shutout in nine of 10 halves played since falling 1-0 in double-overtime to No. 9 Georgetown on Sept. 18. The unit shows eight shutouts on the season and has allowed only six opponent goals, the third-fewest allowed in the NCAA. A conference opponent has yet to score against the Mountaineers this year.
“We have great leadership back there – they’re really in sync,” Izzo-Brown added. “We aren’t giving any good looks, and we’re denying good opportunities.”
Freshman Rylee Foster, the reigning Big 12 Freshman of the Year, is credited with five of the team’s shutouts and owns a 9-1-1 record between the posts. She’s tops in the Big 12 and No. 4 nationally with a 0.365 goals-against average (GAA).
Junior forward Michaela Abam paces the Mountaineer attack with 17 points (7 G, 3 A). The Houston native averages 0.50 goals/game, the second-best mark in the Big 12, and ranks No. 3 in the conference with a 1.21 points/game average. Abam shows 27 career goals and needs one more score to break onto the program’s all-time career goals list.
The Red Raiders enter Friday night on a two-match skid, dropping 1-0 decisions to Oklahoma State and Baylor last weekend in Lubbock.
Freshman forward Jade King paces the team with 11 points (5 G, 1 A). She ranks No. 6 in the conference with a 0.36 goals/game average. Senior Lauren Watson has started all 14 matches in goal and has allowed 14 goals while stopping 55 shots for a 0.97 GAA, the seventh-best mark in the Big 12, and a .797 save percentage. She shows five shutouts on the year.
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