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No. 6 WVU Opens Home Slate with Top-10 Battle
August 25, 2016 06:01 PM | Women's Soccer
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 6-ranked West Virginia University women’s soccer team opens its 2016 home season at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium this weekend with a pair of matches.
The Mountaineers (1-0-1) kick the weekend off against No. 8-ranked Clemson (2-0) on Friday, Aug. 26, at 7 p.m., before hosting Saint Francis (0-2) on Sunday, Aug. 28, at 1 p.m.
Friday’s match is a Dollar Night, and all tickets, small drinks, popcorn and bags of Skittles will be available for $1 each. Additionally, all fans in attendance will receive a WVU women’s soccer schedule poster. Friday also is a Gold Rush, and fans are encouraged to show their Mountaineer Pride by wearing gold.
Tickets for Sunday’s match are $5 for adults, $3 for youths under the age of 13 and $2 for groups of 10 or more. Sunday is Camper Reunion Day, with free admission for those who wear their 2016 camp t-shirt. Free admission also will be awarded to all who bring a completed Musket coloring sheet to the stadium gate. The Mountaineers will sign autographs following the match.
WVU students are admitted free to both games this weekend with a valid WVU Student ID. Prior to kickoff Friday night, the Mountaineer Maniacs will host a tailgate with free Qdoba for all members in attendance.
TICKETS | MUSKET COLORING SHEET | WVU NOTES | CLEMSON STREAM | CLEMSON STATS | SAINT FRANCIS STREAM | SAINT FRANCIS STATS
“It’s going to be a great weekend at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, and I’m anticipating a great game Friday night,” Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “We are seeking any competitive edge we can get, and knowing the energy level our fans can provide, I am asking all our fans to come out Friday night and cheer us on in our home opener. I’m always bragging about our fan base, and I’m hoping they’ll have our back this weekend.”
The Mountaineers return to Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium for the first time since earning a 5-2 victory over Loyola Marymount in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Third Round on Nov. 22. WVU is unbeaten in its last 25 straight home matches and has not lost a contest since a 2-0 defeat to No. 21 Duke on Aug. 29, 2014.
“We’re expecting a very tough team Friday night,” Izzo-Brown said of Clemson. “They have one of the best goalkeepers in the country, and they feature a lot of youth national team talent. They gained a lot of experience last year and are coming off two strong wins last weekend. I’m expecting a tough, tough match.”
Friday’s meeting is the first ever between the Mountaineers and the Tigers. It marks the second time since 2006 WVU will face a top-10 opponent in the regular season in consecutive weeks. WVU opened the year at No. 2-ranked Penn State on Aug. 19 and earned a 1-1 double-overtime draw.
Fresh of her 300th career victory, Izzo-Brown will have her complete team at her disposal Friday night, as senior All-Americans Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence have returned to the squad after helping Canada capture the Bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.
Three different Mountaineers tallied goals in the team’s season-opening road trip to the Penn State Invitational: junior forwards Michaela Abam and Heather Kaleiohi, and sophomore forward Grace Cutler. Kaleiohi’s goal in the 22nd minute in the team’s 2-0 win against Buffalo on Aug. 21 was her first career game-winner.
Freshman Rylee Foster started in net for WVU last weekend and finished with a 0.49 goals-against average. She made nine saves in the draw against the Nittany Lions.
Following a 2015 season which saw the Tigers finish third in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Clemson opened the year with two victories, a 2-0 win at No. 11 Auburn on Aug. 19, and a 3-1 win over Georgia on Aug. 21. Freshman midfielder Julie Mackin finished with four points (1 G, 2 A) on the weekend en route to ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Tiger senior goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan is expected to make her return to the team this weekend after serving as an alternate for Team Canada at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. A 2015 NSCAA All-America Third Team and three-time All-ACC honoree, she owns 22 career shutouts, the second most in Clemson history.
The Red Flash enter the weekend looking for their first win of the season, having opened the year with back-to-back 1-0 defeats to George Washington and Bucknell. Sophomore Julie Herman played all 180 minutes in net and finished with 17 saves and a 1.00 GAA.
Saint Francis opens the weekend at Loyola (Md.) later tonight. WVU is 2-0 all-time against the Red Flash, with the last meeting in 1997.
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