Box Score KANSAS CITY, Mo. -  A goal in the 64th minute was all the No. 14-ranked West Virginia University women's soccer team needed, as the second-seeded Mountaineers defeated No. 18-ranked and third-seeded Texas, 1-0, tonight in the Big 12 Soccer Championship semifinal at Swope Soccer Village.
 
The Mountaineers will meet top-seeded and No. 9-ranked Baylor in the Big 12 Championship final Sunday, Nov. 4, at 3:30 p.m. EST. The Bears advanced to the championship after defeating fifth-seeded Texas Tech, 2-1 (OT), earlier today.
 
"We have to recover because Baylor is such a tough team," Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. "We know how tough they're going to be. We're playing for something big, and both teams are going to want it. We need to recover and get ready."
 
The championship final's trip is the Mountaineers' fourth in program history and first since winning the title in 2016. WVU has won three Big 12 Championship crowns since joining the conference in 2012.
 
For the second consecutive match, senior forward Sh'Nia Gordon connected with senior midfielder Nadya Gill for the game-winning goal, burying her chance near the penalty line in the 64th minute for her team-best seventh goal of the season and fourth game-winner.
 
"We talked a lot at halftime about finding that goal," Izzo-Brown added. "We created a lot of chances, and we knew Texas was tightening up. We just had to find that right finish, and Nia was the one to finish it. We talked a lot about maybe it would take that little bit of extra, but we knew if everyone did their job tonight, we would come out with a win."
 
Senior midfielder Grace Cutler jump-started the scoring play. With the ball near midfield, she sent it wide left to Gill, who pushed ahead before slotting the ball to Gordon six-yards high of the box.
 
Gill and Gordon also connected on WVU's game-winning goal in the 46th minute in the Mountaineers' 3-0 victory over Oklahoma in the championship quarterfinal on Oct. 28.
 
The Mountaineers (13-4-3, 7-2) finished with a 28-9 edge in shots and forced UT's Nicole Curry into seven saves. Junior Rylee Foster made four stops against the Longhorns (13-4-3, 5-3-1) for WVU's 10th shutout of the season. 
 
Gordon paced the field with seven shots, while senior defender Bianca St. Georges placed three shots on-goal.
 
"This team refused to lose tonight," Izzo-Brown said. "Everyone had their hearts on their sleeves and had that iron will. I was so proud of them."
 
WVU earned an 8-2 edge in corner kicks.
 
With tonight's win, the Mountaineers' second of the season against the Longhorns, WVU improves to 7-2-1 all-time against UT and 1-0-1 at the championship.
 
The Mountaineers pushed early in the second half. In the 49th minute, sophomore forward Lauren Segalla left the ball high for Gordon, and her quick shot was caught at the line by Curry. Quickly after, Curry halted WVU's chance again, stuffing Gill at the left post. Off the ensuing corner kick, St. Georges leapt inside the box and placed a header on-frame; the ball was stopped by a UT defender at the line.
 
Minutes after Gordon's game-winner, Foster stopped a shot from forward Katie Glenn at the left post. The Mountaineers then got lucky, as UT worked the ball to Cydney Billups inside the six-yard box, but her shot went wide of the left post.
 
St. Georges' last quality look came off a free kick in the 82nd minute; her low attempt was caught by Curry. The WVU defense answered in the 88th minute, blocking a shot from defender Emma Regan following a UT free kick.
 
The Mountaineers certainly had their chances in the first half. Just two minutes into the match, senior forward Hannah Abraham found a streaking Addison Clark at the top of the box. The freshman midfielder quickly sent the ball toward the frame, but her deflected attempt was knocked down by Curry.
 
Segalla had five first-half shots. She got her head on the ball in front of the net in the 13th minute, but her attempt went wide.
 
Foster was called into service in the 17th minute, as midfielder Haley Berg's shot curved toward the right post. The Cambridge, Ontario, native slid to make the catching save.
 
Segalla's shot in the 20th minute was kicked wide by a UT defender. Three minutes later, the Mountaineers got very luck. Berg chased the ball into the box and looked to challenge Foster at the right post. She whiffed on the first ball but collected herself for a second attempt that went wide of the left post.
 
Foster preserved the 0-0 draw in the 27th minute. On Texas' second corner kick of the match, midfielder Julia Grosso sent the ball to the far-right post, where defender Chelsea Supris sent a quick chip shot toward the line. Foster tipped it away at the post for WVU's second save of the match.  
 
Segalla had back-to-back chances late in the half. The first was a header inside the box in the 44th minute that went wide of the left post. The second was a charge toward the right post, but her low shot was kicked away by Curry.
 
With tonight's win, the Mountaineers improve to 12-2-2 all-time at the Big 12 Soccer Championship.