MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Four weeks. Four top-10 opponents.
Such is the life for the No. 3-ranked West Virginia University women's soccer team. Since opening the 2017 season with a 1-0 victory at No. 5 Georgetown on Aug. 18, the squad has faced one top-10 opponent each week at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
The results have been mixed. Ranked No. 1 at the time, the Mountaineers suffered a 2-1 (OT) setback to No. 10 Virginia on Aug. 24 before a near-perfect first half propelled WVU to a 2-1 win over No. 1 Penn State on Sept. 2.
Next on 22-year coach
Nikki Izzo-Brown's tough schedule? A home match against No. 6 Duke, tonight, at 7 p.m.
The Blue Devils (5-1) will certainly arrive with revenge on their mind, as WVU (4-1) tallied two wins against the ACC foe in 2016, including a 1-0 victory in the NCAA Tournament Fourth Round on Nov. 26. The win knocked the 2015 NCAA Runner-Up out of the tournament and pushed the Mountaineers to their first-ever NCAA College Cup appearance.
"I think they're going to come out Friday night giving us everything they have," WVU senior midfielder
Carla Portillo said. "For us, we need to stay on-top of our game plan. We need to be completely focused on Duke and give the match everything we have to give.
"We want to show that beating Duke twice last year wasn't a mistake or a fluke. We've put in the hard work."
Over the last few weeks, the Mountaineers have placed an emphasis on their offense in practice, particularly on pass connection. Portillo, a 2016 NSCAA All-Central Region Second Team and All-Big 12 First Team honoree, takes pride in the team's passing.
"We've really keyed in on the little things in practice – making sure we get an extra pass, staying engaged and connecting with our teammates," she explained. "I'm feeling pretty confident about our progress. We've been very focused this week and all-in with our game plan."
Portillo, a native of Mississauga, Ontario, ranks No. 4 on the team with three points (1 G, 1 A). With 14 career helpers to her name, she needs seven more assists to break onto the program's all-time career assists chart.
Izzo-Brown believes the team's attention to detail in practice will help the Mountaineers as the season progresses.
"With the season still young, we wanted to fix different issues and work on different things, and one of the opportunities we had was to work on our front six," Izzo-Brown added. "We wanted to get our movement better.
"Carla is a player who has earned significant minutes and has a good understanding of what we want. She's our leader, our little magician and our quarterback at midfield. She has plugged in and understand what we are asking for."
In addition to the extra focus in practice, another factor will work in the Mountaineers' favor tonight against the Blue Devils – home-field advantage.
"I love night games; they're great. When we have big games like the one against Duke, and we get a crowd of 2,000 people, it's an amazing feeling," Portillo enthused. "We have the best fans in the world. My parents (Carlos Portillo and Herminia Bongog) are impressed every time they come to town. They think our fans are incredible. It's a great atmosphere in Morgantown, and I think it works in our favor."
Tonight is WVU Faculty/Staff night, and WVU faculty and staff members who show their WVU employee ID will be given free admission.
Tickets are on sale now at WVUGAME.com and also will be available for purchase at the stadium ticket office. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for youths under 13 and senior citizens and $2 for groups of 10 or more. WVU students are admitted free with a valid WVU Student I.D.
To provide a safer environment for Mountaineer fans and to expedite entry into all ticketed WVU athletic events, the West Virginia Department of Intercollegiate Athletics enforces the NFL's Clear Bag Policy. The athletic department invites and encourages fans to visit WVUsports.com/clearbag for more information, to view pictures of permissible and non-permissible items and to obtain answers to frequently asked questions about the clear bag policy.
