MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 6-ranked West Virginia University women’s soccer team received a lot of attention this week. On Wednesday, the squad sat at the top of the Big 12 Conference Preseason Poll. On Thursday, four Mountaineers were named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Soccer Team. And tonight, two WVU All-Americans, Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence, look to help Canada move past France and into the semifinals at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.

 

Suffice to say, the preseason buzz that surrounds the Mountaineers yearly is building.

 

Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown, on the cusp of her 21st season with the Mountaineers and one win short of career victory No. 300, is now tasked with the responsibility of reigning in the hype that follows her squad. WVU is coming off a memorable 2015 season which saw the Mountaineers return to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight for the first time since 2007, as well as capture their fourth straight Big 12 Conference regular-season title and post career single-season records for wins (19), shutouts (15) and goals (61).

 

The four-time reigning Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year, Izzo-Brown recently sat down to discuss her 2016 team and the WVU women’s soccer program’s foundation for success.    

 

 

I think this group of seniors understands the importance of quality senior leadership because of the great example last year’s class set. All four of these athletes has learned a lot over the last three years and they know what leadership can do for the whole team’s success. I know that each of them will combine her soccer knowledge and those learned lessons to help push the team forward in 2016.

 

 

I think that any time you are that close to a goal and you realize that opportunity was there, it gives you hope, a burning desire to get back to that level and extra motivation to push through that door. I think our returning student-athletes realize they need be a bit more focused, work a little harder and push our technical abilities.

 

 

Despite the experience we lost, we return a lot, including senior defensive center backs Kadeisha Buchanan and Carly Black, and I know they’re going to do a great job leading our defense. I have all the faith in (junior goalkeeper) Michelle Newhouse. I think she’ll understand the large shoes she has to fill with the loss of Hannah.

 

I think our entire backline will understand what it has to do to continue the defensive success the 2015 team achieved.

 

 

We’ll need an attacking player to step up and provide some of the goals Kailey got for us last year. It could be (senior midfielder) Ashley Lawrence helping out, stepping up and filling in on some of those goals. It could be (junior forward) Heather Kaleiohi coming in and playing more. Maybe it’s (sophomore forward) Sh’Nia Gordon, Z (junior forward Amandine Pierre-Louis) or (junior forward) Michaela Abam. Whoever it is, we hope everyone is going to spread it out and contribute whatever way she can to make sure that we’re winning.

 

We have some new players, too, that we hope will even out our attack and contribute at a top level.

 

 

As I always say – to be the best, you must prepare yourself against the best. Each of the teams that made last year’s NCAA Tournament will show us different ways to play the game and will present unique challenges that will help us prepare for the Big 12 Conference season.

 

It’s never where we begin a season but more about where we end. When you play high-level teams, you really have a great opportunity to better see your strengths and weaknesses.

 

 

As a team, we’ve always had a target on our back because opponents want what we have. Championship teams bring out the best in other teams.

 

When you have two elite student-athletes who have played at the game’s highest stages, opponents are going to go after them; they want to shut down Ashley in the attack or take on Keish in the attack so they can say they beat the best center back in the world. Fortunately, I know Ashley and Keish are very competitive, and they won’t allow either of those things to happen easily.

 

 

I think the spring season is always a time for players to step-up and show where they can really contribute. I saw a lot from (junior forward) Heather Kaleiohi – she has done a lot of great things and has shown what she can do for us on the front line.

 

I think (sophomore defender) Easther Mayi Kith had a great spring season. She had to step into the starting lineup last year when Carly Black went out with an injury, and that was big for her development. While Kadeisha was off training with the Canadian National Team, Easther was able to show some great leadership on our backline.

 

(Sophomore defender/forward) Hannah Abraham continues to grow, and (junior goalkeeper) Michelle Newhouse gained a lot of experience during the spring and on our foreign tour.

 

(Senior midfielder) Ashley Woolpert will definitely contribute leadership this season. She’s so versatile and can play many positions for us.

 

 

Grace and Alli bring a lot of high level, collegiate experience with them. They both played for well-respected programs and have proven that they can contribute on the field and be attacking threats for us. We hope that they can continue the success they had with their previous schools and help us achieve more success. 

 

 

The people at West Virginia University make this place so special because everyone is so giving and kind. They all have pride and respect for WVU Athletics, and they want this program and the student-athletes to be successful.

 

The WVU women’s soccer program is committed to fostering a family atmosphere. In a family, nothing is perfect but you always have your family’s back. We celebrate each other’s successes, and we come together in our losses, too.

 

 

I think the depth we had in 2015 was exactly what we needed to maintain that speed of play that we desired. I think everyone was selfless and contributed in her own way, and we relied a lot on the girls that came in off the bench and helped us maintain our level of attack. They all recognized their role; they didn’t play off the bench because they were a second-tier athlete but because they were a first-tier athlete in that role.

 

That was the advantage I had last year – I had so many players that could keep that high-level of play at a championship level.

 

 

We secured our 100th victory at Dick Dlesk Stadium in 2015, and we are very aware of how special our home stadium is and how special Mountaineer Nation’s support is to our continued success. Our fans bring so much energy to each of our home matches. We put a lot of pride into defending our home-field advantage and recognize that Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium is sacred ground. We know that with the support of our fans, it’s very hard to beat us in Morgantown.

 

 

When I see 300 wins attributed to other coaches, I think to myself, ‘That’s a huge number.’ I can’t even wrap myself around the concept of career win No. 300. Winning is never easy at any level or at any school. I always think about the blood, sweat and tears others have contributed to help me get to 300.

 

It’s a big number and I’m proud of it, but I won’t take all the credit because it’s not just about one person. It’s a huge number! I’m excited, too, for the program to possibly get win No. 300 this year.

 

 

Carly has proven herself each year academically, and she epitomizes what we want to see from our WVU women’s soccer student-athletes. It’s not just about championships on the field – we want to earn championships off the field, too.

 

I graduated three student-athletes from the 2015 team who want to study medicine and become doctors. Carly aspires to become a physical therapist. I think these athletes’ successes, as well as the countless other success stories we’ve graduated over the years, prove that this program allows all our student-athletes to achieve their athletic and academic goals.