KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The No. 5-ranked and second-seeded West Virginia University women's soccer team opens 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.
 
The Mountaineers (14-3-1, 7-1-1) claimed the championship title in 2016 and have won three of the last four titles. WVU is 9-2-1 all-time in Big 12 Soccer Championship matches.
 
Wednesday marks the second time in as many seasons the Mountaineers have faced the Red Raiders (9-6-3, 2-4-3) in the championship quarterfinal. Last year, top-seeded WVU knocked off No. 8-seed TTU, 3-0, on Nov. 2. In championship matches, the Mountaineers are 1-1 all-time against the Red Raiders.
 
Wednesday's winner will meet the winner of No. 3-seed TCU – No. 6-seed Kansas in the Big 12 Soccer Championship semifinal on Friday, Nov. 3, at 8 p.m. EST.
 
"This team is very motivated to make sure we take care of business," Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. "We let Texas Tech in a couple weeks ago, and I know the players are very focused and excited we have another opportunity to play the Red Raiders.
 
"We are ready to move forward into postseason. This is a great opportunity for us to maintain our momentum and to keep pushing forward. We are going to need to have a great game to play Friday." 
 
The two teams last met on Oct. 19, and WVU settled for a 1-1 (2OT) draw against TTU at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. Senior Amandine Pierre-Louis, the co-Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, scored with 54 seconds remaining in the first half, but the Red Raiders' Brooke Denesik found the equalizer in the 61st minute. WVU finished with a 35-11 edge in shots and a 12-1 advantage in corner kicks. Sophomore Rylee Foster made two saves for the Mountaineers, and freshman Marissa Zucchetto finished with eight stops for TTU.
 
The Mountaineers are 5-2-1 all-time against the Red Raiders and have outscored TTU, 13-5, in the last six meetings.
 
WVU closed the 2017 regular season with a 2-0 win at Kansas on Oct. 27. Senior midfielder Alli Magaletta tallied her third game-winner in four matches with a goal in the 14th minute, and senior forward Michaela Abam added the insurance goal in the 71st minute. Senior midfielder Carla Portillo assisted on both scores.
 
Junior Bianca St. Georges, the reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, and the WVU defense held the Jayhawks to five shots. The unit denied KU a corner kick, the sixth opponent this season to not earn a chance against the Mountaineer defense. Foster made two saves for the team's 11th shutout of the year.
 
Abam paces the Mountaineer offense with seven goals and 17 points (7 G, 3 A). The WVU attack ranks No. 2 in the Big 12 with a 1.78 goals/game average.
 
Foster ranks No. 3 in the Big 12, No. 19 nationally, with a .551 goals-against average (GAA). The WVU defense is No. 1 in the conference, No. 17 in the NCAA, with a 0.611 shutout percentage.
 
The Red Raiders closed their regular season with a 3-0 win over Oklahoma on Oct. 27, in Lubbock, Texas. It was the team's first three-goal outing since Sept. 22 and the squad's seventh clean sheet of the year.
 
Forward Ally Griffin, the reigning Big 12 Freshman of the Week, tallied the game-winner against the Sooners and paces the Red Raiders in goals (6) and points (13). She shows a league-best five game-winners.
 
Zucchetto has played between the posts in all 18 matches and started the last four. She has allowed 10 goals and shows a 0.84 GAA, the sixth-best mark in the Big 12.
 
Of note, the national polls have been released, and WVU ranks as high as No. 5 in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Women's Division I Top 25 National Rankings. The Mountaineers also rank No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and the Soccer America Women's Top 25. Additionally, WVU continues to sit at No. 5 in the NCAA RPI.
 
Stanford ranks No. 1 in all three polls, as well as the NCAA RPI.
 
The TDS.com Team of the Week also was announced today, and St. Georges earned the honor for the first time this season.