KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the fourth time in program history and the first time since 2016, the West Virginia University women's soccer team will play for the Big 12 Soccer Championship title, as the No. 14-ranked and second-seeded Mountaineers meet No. 9-ranked, top-seeded and defending champion Baylor in the championship final on Sunday, Nov. 4, at 3:30 p.m. EST, at Swope Soccer Village.  
 
Sunday's match will be broadcast nationally on FS1. 
 
WVU and BU have combined to win five of the last six Big 12 Soccer Championship titles. The Mountaineers (13-4-3, 7-2) won in 2013, 2014 and 2016, and the Bears (17-4, 8-1) won in 2012 and 2017.
 
WVU's last appearance in the championship final was an exciting come-back effort, as the No. 1-ranked Mountaineers shook off a two-goal deficit to defeat TCU, 3-2 (OT) on Nov. 6, at Swope Soccer Village. A pair of current seniors factored into the Mountaineers' victory, as forward Sh'Nia Gordon assisted on WVU's first goal in the 59th minute, and forward Hannah Abraham assisted on Ashley Lawrence's golden goal in the 97th minute.
 
WVU is 3-0 in Big 12 Soccer Championship finals.
 
"It's so invaluable to have the type of experience and opportunity we gained at the 2016 championship, and our staff and team will lean on that experience," Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said.
 
The Mountaineers look to avenge a September loss to BU, the outright 2018 Big 12 Conference regular-season champion. Then-No. 16 WVU dropped 1 -0 (OT) decision to the No. 24 Bears on Oct. 5, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. The defeat snapped the Mountaineers' 40-match unbeaten streak in home conference matches and was WVU's first-ever loss to BU.
 
"Tomorrow is an opportunity for us to see a team that beat us in the regular season," Izzo-Brown said. "I know the seniors and the team were really disappointed in that result. You don't always get a second chance, so this is a great opportunity for us.
 
"Baylor has a lethal attack and does a lot of scoring. We just need to keep focusing on getting the clean sheet."
 
WVU is 5-1-1 all-time against the Bears. The teams last met at the championship in 2013, a 1-0 semifinal win for the Mountaineers on Nov. 8, at Swope Soccer Village.
 
The Mountaineers punched their ticket to the final late Friday night, defeating No. 18-ranked and third-seeded Texas, 1-0. Gordon scored her second consecutive game-winning goal off a slotted ball from senior midfielder Nadya Gill in the 64th minute.
 
WVU smothered UT, finishing with a 28-9 shot advantage and forcing the Longhorns into eight saves. Junior Rylee Foster made four stops for the Mountaineers' 10th clean sheet of the season. WVU also earned an 8-2 edge in corner kicks.
 
Gordon paces the WVU attack with 15 points (7 G, 1 A). She and Gill have connected on the Mountaineers' last two game-winning goals, and Gordon paces WVU with four game-winners.
 
Foster has earned credit for nine of WVU's clean sheets and ranks No. 1 in the Big 12 with a 0.54 goals-against average (GAA). The Mountaineers rank No. 1 in the conference with a 0.53 GAA.
 
Baylor rides a 10-match win streak into Sunday's match and has not lost since dropping a 2-1 (OT) decision at No. 14 Texas on Sept. 21. The Bears defeated fifth-seeded Texas Tech, 2-1 (OT), on Nov. 2 in the championship's first semifinal match.
 
Junior forward Camryn Wendlandt, an All-Big 12 Second Team honoree, paces BU with 19 points (9 G, 1 A). Five of her scores have been game-winners. Senior midfielder Julie James, an All-Big 12 First Team honoree, ranks No. 2 with 18 points (8 G, 2 A).
 
Sophomore Jennifer Wandt, a member of the All-Big 12 Second Team, as started 16 of 21 matches and shows a 0.53 GAA, allowing 10 goals and earning credit for 11 of BU's 13 shutouts.