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Lyons Announces 2016 Slate
April 19, 2016 12:47 PM | Women's Soccer
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University Director of Athletics Shane Lyons announced today the 2016 women’s soccer schedule.
The Mountaineers, the four-time defending Big 12 Conference champions, will face one of the toughest slates in program history, as the team will meet seven squads that qualified for the 2015 NCAA Tournament, including matches against reigning National Champion Penn State and runner-up Duke at their home fields.
“While the 2016 schedule is tough, it falls right in line with our scheduling philosophy, which is to play the best nonconference competition we can to prepare us for conference play,” four-time reigning Big 12 Coach of the Year Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “Mission accomplished this year. We feel that this is one of the toughest slates we have put together in 21 seasons. We made the conscious decision to play some of the nation’s top teams.
“There’s no denying that playing the defending National Champions, as well as the national runners-up, in their home venues will be a huge challenge for us. We know we will have to be extra special this season as we navigate this schedule.”
In total, WVU, a 2015 NCAA Tournament quarterfinalist, will face three teams from the Big Ten Conference and two from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), including Clemson, the ACC’s third-place team last year and a No. 2 seed in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
The Mountaineers’ season opener pits WVU against its regional rival, as the squad will face the Nittany Lions at Jeffrey Field in University Park, Pennsylvania, on Friday, Aug. 19, at 7:30 p.m., as a part of the Penn State Tournament. The Mountaineers dropped a 2-0 decision at PSU in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight on Nov. 28. WVU earned the upperhand in the regular season, defeating the Nittany Lions, 1-0, in Morgantown on Sept. 4.
Additional nonconference road-match highlights include a showdown at Duke on Friday, Sept. 9, and a match at Richmond on Friday, Sept. 23. Both contests are slated to start at 7 p.m.
After tallying the program’s 100th win at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in their 2015 home finale, a 5-2 win over Loyola Marymount in the NCAA Tournament Third Round on Nov. 22, the Mountaineers will compete in Morgantown 10 times this season. WVU opens its home season against Clemson on Friday, Aug. 26, at 7 p.m.
WVU’s nonconference home slate also features matches against 2015 NCAA Tournament participants Ohio State on Sunday, Sept. 4, at 6 p.m., Princeton on Friday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. and Georgetown on Sunday, Sept. 18, at 1 p.m.
“There are so many great teams coming to town this season, and we open the home schedule with a fantastic opponent in Clemson,” Izzo-Brown said. “You add Ohio State, Georgetown and Princeton into the mix, and that’s four great nonconference matchups for our fans to come out and watch. Our home schedule is going to be very exciting, and we’re going to need Mountaineer Nation’s support at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium this year.”
The Mountaineers open the defense of their four straight Big 12 Conference regular-season titles at home against Baylor on Friday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m. WVU also will face Oklahoma, Texas Tech, the defending Big 12 Conference Tournament champions, and Oklahoma State in Morgantown this season. The Mountaineers carry a 30-match unbeaten streak in conference games at DDSS into the 2016 season; WVU has not lost a league contest in Morgantown since dropping a 3-2 overtime decision to No. 8 Notre Dame on Oct. 2, 2009. The Mountaineers are 15-0-1 in all-time home Big 12 matches.
WVU will travel on two conference road swings this season. The squad will play at Kansas and Iowa State Oct. 7-9, and at TCU and Texas Oct. 21-23.
“The target on our backs within the Big 12 Conference has certainly grown over the last four years,” Izzo-Brown added. “We know that we are the team everyone wants to beat. We need to carry that target all season long and prepare for everyone’s best shot. It’s a privilege that we’ve created with our success, and we’ll have to be prepared.”
The 2016 Big 12 Soccer Championship begins with quarterfinal play on Nov. 2, with the semifinals and the final following on Nov. 4 and Nov. 6. For the fourth straight season, all matches will be played at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri.
The first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament will begin on Nov. 11-13, with all matches held on campus sites. The 2016 Women’s College Cup will be held Dec. 2-4, at WakeMed Soccer Park, in Cary, North Carolina.
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
