KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The No. 13-ranked and second-seeded West Virginia University women's soccer team opens the 2018 Big 12 Soccer Championship against No. 7 seed Oklahoma on Sunday, Oct. 28, at 6:30 p.m. EST, at Swope Soccer Village.
 
Links for a video stream and live stats are available at WVUsports.com.
 
Sunday's meeting is the second between the teams in as many weeks. The Mountaineers (11-4-3, 7-2) capped their 2018 regular-season road slate with a 4-1 win at Oklahoma (7-9-2, 3-5-1) on Oct. 21.
 
"Playing Oklahoma, we definitely know how dynamic and dangerous they can be," Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. "It was a game where we finished our chances, but we know they are very dangerous, too."
 
The Mountaineers are 10-2-2 in all-time Big 12 Soccer Championship matches and 10-1-2 at Swope Soccer Village. WVU has claimed three championship titles since joining the conference in 2012, with the last coming in 2016.
 
Sunday is the 500th match in the 23 years of WVU women's soccer program history. All matches have come under Izzo-Brown, who stands one win short of career victory No. 350.
 
The Mountaineers are 8-0-1 all-time against the Sooners and 2-0 against OU at the Big 12 Championship. In their last meeting in Kansas City, No. 1 ranked and top-seeded WVU earned a 2-0 win over No. 4 seed OU in the championship semifinal on Nov. 4, 2016, en route to its eventual championship win.
 
In the contest last week, WVU matched its season-high goal total of four in its victory in Norman; the Mountaineers are the only team this season to tally more than three goals against the Sooner defense.
 
Senior defender Bianca St. Georges put the Mountaineers ahead, 1-0, just 2:50 into the match for WVU's second-fastest goal of the season. She combined with senior forward Hannah Abraham for all four WVU goals. Abraham's game-winner in the 28th minute was her second of the weekend and team-best third of the season.
 
WVU finished with a 15-10 shot edge against OU, and the Sooners' goal in the 58th minute, by senior midfielder Marissa McMahand, was their lone chance on-frame. OU made three saves, and WVU finished with a 2-1 advantage in corner kicks.
 
Winners in 10 of their last 12 matches, the Mountaineers ended their regular-season slate with a 1-0 (OT) loss to Kansas on Oct. 25, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown. Junior Rylee Foster made four saves in the loss, her second-best showing of the year.
 
"We need to understand that anyone in the Big 12 can win," Izzo-Brown added. "We need to make sure we keep our confidence and focus up as we progress through this championship."
 
The WVU defense has posted eight shutouts this season and ranks No. 2 in the Big 12, No. 22 nationally, with a 0.585 goals-against average (GAA).
 
The Mountaineer attack sits at No. 4 in the conference with a 1.72 goals/game average. St. Georges paces WVU with six goals and 12 points, a mark matched by sophomore midfielder Stefany Ferrer-vanGinkel (5 G, 2 A). St. Georges and Abraham have combined to score WVU's last six goals, and Abraham's three game-winners rank No. 4 in the Big 12.
 
OU closed its 2018 regular season with a 1-0 loss at No. 10 Baylor, the Big 12 regular-season champion, on Oct. 25, in Waco, Texas. OU was outshot, 11-7, and only placed three shots on-goal. McKinley Crone made four saves for OU, and the Sooners earned a 7-4 edge in corner kicks.
 
Senior forward Kaylee Dao paces OU with 15 points (6 G, 2 A). Junior forward Ivanna Rivas (5 G, 1 A) and McMahand (2 G, 7 A) each show 11 points.
 
Crone, a sophomore, has played all 18 matches between the posts and allowed 25 goals for a 1.34 GAA. The Sooners have posted just three blank sheets this season.