Box Score LAWRENCE, Kan. – For the second straight match, seniors Alli Magaletta and Michaela Abam delivered timely goals to push the No. 7-ranked West Virginia University women's soccer team to a 2-0 win at Kansas tonight at Rock Chalk Park.
 
The Mountaineers (14-3-1, 7-1-1) close their 2017 regular-season slate with their 11th shutout of the season and fifth in Big 12 play.
 
Tonight's match was never in doubt, as WVU controlled the tempo immediately, scoring on its third shot of the night and putting the game away with a second-half insurance goal. With the win, WVU pushes its all-time series advantage over KU (8-9-2, 3-5-1) to 7-0; the Jayhawks have never scored against the Mountaineers.
 
"I thought the seniors really stepped up today. They came out with the mindset that we had to win," Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. "You see Alli Magaletta get the first one, and Michaela get the second – I can't ask more of those seniors. I'm totally proud of the way the girls came out with their mentality tonight. They refused to lose, and it was a great way to finish Big 12 play."
 
For the second straight game and the third time in four matches, Magaletta put the Mountaineers ahead 1-0 against a conference opponent. This time, the reigning Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week connected on a free kick from senior midfielder Carla Portillo in the 14th minute.
 
Portillo placed the ball perfectly near the six-yard box. Magaletta redirected it toward the far-right post for her fourth goal of the season. The Chesterfield, Missouri, native has now scored in Lawrence in back-to-back matches.
 
Magaletta ranks second on the team with four goals. The game-winner was her third of the season and the sixth of her career. She currently ranks No. 2 on the team with 11 points (4 G, 3 A).  
 
The Mountaineers' second goal came in the 71st minute, as Portillo again placed a ball in the right spot. On WVU's fourth corner kick of the match, the Mississauga, Ontario, native sent the ball right into the middle of the box, where a waiting Abam easily headed it behind Maddie Dobyns for her team-best seventh score of the season.
 
Tonight marks Portillo's first double-assist match of the season and the second of her career. She now shows a team-best 17 career helpers.
 
With tonight's score, Abam's career goal mark moves to 39, and she sits tied with Deana Everrett (2005-08) for third place in the Mountaineer record book. She shows 94 points for her career and moves into a tie with Ashley Banks (2004-07) for fifth place in the WVU annals.
 
The Mountaineers finished with a 12-5 edge in shots and a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks. KU is the sixth team this season to not earn a corner kick against the Mountaineer backline.
 
Sophomore Rylee Foster made two first-half saves for her 10th clean sheet of the season. WVU placed three shots on-frame.
 
"It was a total team effort defensively, how Rylee and our backline managed the game," Izzo-Brown added.
 
Abam gave the Mountaineers their first quality look, running up on a ball from classmate Heather Kaleiohi, but her low attempt 1:52 into the match was stopped by Dobyns.
 
Portillo nearly tallied a goal, too, in the 26th minute, as a foul on junior defender Bianca St. Georges gave WVU a free kick above the box. Portillo's ensuing attempt went just above the crossbar.
 
Two minutes later, Foster made her first save of the night, easily stopping a long shot from midfielder Ceri Holland. Her second save took much more focus, as she halted a long, running shot from forward Grace Hagan at the right post in the 44th minute.
 
WVU withstood a KU push early in the second half before regaining its rhythm. A trio of Mountaineers generated a great look in the 54th minute. Junior Grace Cutler fought off two Jayhawks before sending a sliding ball wide in to Abam, who immediately pushed it back out to senior forward Heather Kaleiohi. At the end line, she fed the ball back into Abam, but her shot from six-yards out went wide of the left post.
 
Abam finished with a game-high six shots, two on-frame.
 
Tonight's result, coupled with a 1-0 (OT) win by No. 15 Oklahoma State at No. 8 Texas, results in the Mountaineers finishing in second place in the Big 12 Conference standings.
 
Seeded No. 2, WVU will open play at the 2017 Big 12 Soccer Championship against No. 7 seed Texas Tech on Wednesday, Nov. 1, at 6:30 p.m. EST, at Swope Soccer Village, in Kansas City, Missouri. The Mountaineers played to a 1-1 (2OT) draw against the Red Raiders on Oct. 19.
 
2017 BIG 12 SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
Swope Soccer Village - Kansas City
 
Wednesday, Nov. 1
No. 1 Oklahoma State vs. No. 8 Oklahoma, 12:30 p.m. ET
No. 4 Texas vs. No. 5 Baylor, 3 p.m. ET
No. 2 West Virginia vs. No. 7 Texas Tech, 6:30 p.m. ET
No. 3 TCU vs. No. 6 Kansas, 9 p.m. ET
 
Friday, Nov. 3
Wednesday Afternoon Winners, 5:30 p.m. ET
Wednesday Evening Winners, 8 p.m. ET
 
Sunday, Nov. 5
Semifinal Winners, 4 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1