MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 5-ranked West Virginia University women's soccer team opens its Big 12 Conference season at Baylor on Friday, Sept. 22, with kick from Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field in Waco, Texas, set for 8 p.m. EDT.
 
WVU (7-2) opens the defense of its five straight conference regular-season titles in a venue foreign to the players, as no current Mountaineer has played a match in Waco. The teams' 2015 contest was cancelled due to inclement weather.
 
"We couldn't have chosen harder nonconference opponents," Izzo-Brown added. "I think we've seen many different looks and many different ways to attack different teams. Going into conference play, we've built a foundation and confidence, and we have opportunities to grow as a team.
 
"I think this team knows there's a target on its back – it's been that way since we joined the Big 12. I don't think the venue is the focus of the team. It's more about that it's conference play and that it's time to get down to business."
 
The Mountaineers are 35-1-3 all-time in Big 12 play and 21-0-2 since 2014, the longest unbeaten streak in conference history. WVU also is 9-0-2 on the road in that time span.
 
WVU carries an eight-match conference shutout streak into Friday's match, as no Big 12 team has scored on the Mountaineers in a regular-season game since a 2-1 WVU win at Oklahoma State on Oct. 23, 2015.
 
The Mountaineers and the Bears have met five times before, and WVU owns a 4-0-1 series edge. Last season, No. 3 WVU opened its Big 12 slate with a 2-0 win over BU on Sept. 30, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. Forward Michaela Abam tallied the game-winner 3:11 into the match, and forward Sh'Nia Gordon added an insurance goal in the 31st minute. The WVU defense held the Bears to four shots, zero on-goal.
 
WVU finished its nonconference slate on a three-match win streak, including a 1-0 win at No. 14 Princeton on Sept. 15. The Mountaineers have posted three straight shutouts and six on the season, all credited to sophomore Rylee Foster, who ranks No. 66 nationally and No. 7 in the Big 12, with a 0.763 goals-against average (GAA).
 
The Mountaineer defense was stellar last weekend, holding Princeton and La Salle to a combined nine shots, with zero landing on-frame. The team shows a .667 shutout percentage, the top mark in the Big 12 and No. 14 nationally.
 
Senior Abam paces the Mountaineers with eight points (3 G, 2 A). All three of her scores have been game-winners, and she ranks No. 1 in the conference. Gordon shows a team-best three assists.
 
The Bears (6-1-1) capped their nonconference slate with a 4-1 win at SMU on Sept. 17. BU outscored its nonconference foes, 14-3. The team is 4-0 in Waco this season, and all four victories were shutouts.
 
Junior forward Jackie Crowther paces BU with seven points (3 G, 1 A). Two of her scores have been game-winners. Freshman Jennifer Wandt has played between the posts in five matches and shows a 0.40 GAA, the second-best mark in the Big 12. She has allowed two goals and posted three clean sheets.