KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The No. 5-ranked and second-seeded West Virginia University women's soccer team kicks against No. 3-seed TCU in the 2017 Big 12 Soccer Championship semifinals on Friday, Nov. 3, at 8 p.m. EST, at Swope Soccer Village.
  
Friday marks the Mountaineers' (15-3-1, 7-1-1) fifth straight appearance in the conference semifinal. The reigning postseason champion, WVU has won three Big 12 Soccer Championship titles since 2013.
 
TCU (12-5-2, 6-2-1) is the highest-seeded team WVU has faced in six years as Big 12 members. The Horned Frogs are playing in the semifinal for the second time in as many seasons.
 
"We have to take care of the ball," Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. "TCU is a very dynamic team. They have some really great players who can be extremely dangerous. We have to take care of the ball, and defensively we have to be tight and organized. Every team is playing for a championship."
 
The Mountaineers closed their home regular-season slate at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium on Oct. 22 with a 2-0 win over the Horned Frogs. Seniors Alli Magaletta and Michaela Abam tallied scores in the 31st and 71st minutes, respectively. The duo has scored in every match since that meeting. The Mountaineers outshot the Horned Frogs, 16-3, and denied TCU a shot on-goal.
 
WVU is 7-1-1 all-time against TCU and 2-1 in the Big 12 Soccer Championship. Last season, the No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Mountaineers overcame their first two-goal deficit of 2016 to defeat the No. 7 seed Horned Frogs, 3-2 (OT), at Swope Soccer Village. Abam put WVU on the board in the 59th minute before assisting on Kadeisha Buchanan's equalizer in the 89th minute. Ashley Lawrence tallied the golden goal in the 97th minute.
 
The Mountaineers moved past No. 7-seed Texas Tech on Nov. 1, defeating the Red Raiders 3-1. Knotted at 1-1, senior forward Heather Kaleiohi scored the game-winner in the 68th minute, and Abam added an insurance goal in the 83rd minute. Magaletta tallied WVU's first goal in the 16th minute; the Chesterfield, Missouri, native has scored the team's first goal in three of the last four games and earned at least a point in six straight matches. Sophomore Rylee Foster made two stops for WVU.
 
Abam's goal was her team-best eighth of the season, and she ranks No. 2 in the conference with a 0.42 goals/game average. She also is tops on the team with 19 points (8 G, 3) and averages 1.00 points/game, the fourth-best mark in the Big 12. Abam's goal against TTU was the 40th score of her career, and she ranks No. 3 in program history.
 
The Mountaineer backline ranks No. 23 nationally, No. 3 in the Big 12, with a 0.617 goals-against average (GAA). The unit shows 11 shutouts on the season. Foster has earned credit for 10 of the clean sheets and sits at No. 3 in the Big 12 with a 0.575 GAA.
 
TCU survived No. 6-seed Kansas Wednesday night, playing to a 1-1 (2OT) draw before advancing on a 4-2 edge in penalty kicks. Junior midfielder Kayla Hill pushed the Horned Frogs to extra time, scoring the equalizer in the 79th minute. Sophomore Katie Lund made seven saves and also stopped the Jayhawks' first penalty kick.
 
Lund, an All-Big 12 First Team honoree, ranks No. 1 in the conference, No. 13 nationally, with a 0.479 GAA. Senior forward Allison Ganter paces TCU with 14 points (5 G, 4 A).