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No. 1 Mountaineers Face Familiar Foes
September 15, 2016 02:14 PM | Women's Soccer
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 1-ranked West Virginia University women’s soccer team closes its home nonconference slate against familiar foes this weekend at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
The Mountaineers (6-0-1) face Princeton (6-0) on Friday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m., before lining up against No. 9 Georgetown (6-1) on Sunday, Sept. 18, at 1 p.m.
Friday is Olympic Night, and fans wearing their country’s favorite colors will receive free admission. Additionally, it’s WVU Faculty/Staff Night, and all WVU faculty and staff members also will receive free admission with a valid WVU Staff I.D.
Sunday is Youth Soccer Day, and all youths under the age of 13 who wear a youth soccer jersey will receive free admittance. A free soccer clinic will follow the match at the stadium, weather permitting.
Tickets for the weekend matches are available now at WVUGAME.com. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for youths under the age of 13 and senior citizens and $2 for groups of 10 or more. WVU students are admitted free with a valid WVU Student I.D.
Due to the Morgantown Marathon this weekend, fans are only permitted to park in the lower Shell/Natatorium lot/Band lot, adjacent to the track, for Sunday’s match. The lot will only be accessible off Monongahela Blvd. Parking and access to the upper Coliseum parking lots from the Patteson Drive and Evansdale Drive/Arboretum entrances is prohibited.
TICKETS | PARKING ADJUSTMENTS | MATCH NOTES | PRINCETON STREAM | PRINCETON STATS | GEORGETOWN STREAM | GEORGETOWN STATS
Riding a six-match win streak, the Mountaineers take the field for the first time in the program’s 21-year history ranked No. 1 nationally, as the team sits atop this week’s TopDrawerSoccer.com and Soccer America Polls.
“We know what it’s like to have a target on our backs, but we’ve never experienced having the No. 1 target on our back,” Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “It’s different, but it’s also a great opportunity for us to learn and understand what it means and what it could mean at the end of the season if we maintain the ranking.”
WVU is unbeaten in its last 29 home matches, the 11th-best streak in NCAA women’s soccer history.
The Mountaineers and the Tigers meet for the third time Friday night and the first time since Princeton knocked WVU out of the 2012 NCAA Tournament with a 2-1 first-round win in Morgantown on Nov. 10. WVU is 1-1 all-time against Princeton.
“This team will respect Princeton because they came in here a few years back and beat us,” Izzo-Brown said. “We will not take them lightly. They are undefeated right now and have youth national team athletes. There is talent on that team, and it’s going to be a battle Friday.”
Princeton kept its undefeated season intact with a 2-1 double-overtime win at Monmouth on Sept. 11. The 6-0 start is the team’s best start since 2002.
Senior forward Tyler Lussi, the two-time reigning Ivy League Player of the Week, ranks No. 3 nationally with a 1.17 goals/game average. She also ranks No. 6 in the NCAA with a 2.83 points/game average. Lussi owns the Tigers’ career goals (50) and points (115) records.
Former foes in the BIG EAST Conference, WVU is 14-3-2 all-time against Georgetown, the fifth ranked team the Mountaineers have faced in as many weeks. WVU is 3-0-1 against ranked squads this year and 2-0-1 against top-10 opponents.
“When you’re a competitor, you want to play the best,” Izzo-Brown explained. “I think the team enjoys the challenge. This is a team that is really going to rise to this type of schedule. We’ve been fortunate that they’ve responded in a positive matter and we’ve achieved the results needed to earn the No. 1 ranking.
“I go way back with Georgetown, and I know they’re going to be organized and bring their best game to Morgantown. This is a huge weekend for us.”
WVU and Georgetown last met in 2014 and played to two double-overtime draws in Morgantown, a 1-1 tie on Sept. 12 and a 0-0 tie on Nov. 15 in the NCAA Tournament first round. The Hoyas advanced on a 4-3 edge in penalty kicks.
The Hoyas return to competition following a 3-2 comeback victory against then-No. 3 Virginia on Sept. 11. Trailing 2-0 early, Georgetown scored three goals in 24 minutes against UVA, who had not allowed a goal in 2016.
Georgetown is led by junior midfielder Rachel Corboz, the two-time reigning BIG EAST Conference Offensive Player of the Week. She ranks No. 4 in the NCAA with 20 points, averaging 2.88 points/game.
The Hoyas open the weekend tonight at George Washington.
After scoring three goals for the second time this season in a 3-1 victory at then-No. 5 Duke on Sept. 9, WVU pushed its season goal total to 14 and now averages 2.0 goals/game. Junior forward Michaela Abam, the reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, tallied two scores in the win, including the game-winner in the 50th minute, and paces the team with nine points (4 G, 1 A).
The WVU defense has allowed just four goals this season and posted a shutout in 10 of 14 halves played this year. The squad ranks No. 31 nationally with a 0.554 goals-against average (GAA).
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