MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 8-ranked and second-seeded West Virginia University women's soccer team opens the 2018 NCAA Tournament against Radford on Saturday, Nov. 10, at 4 p.m., at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
 
Tickets are on sale now at WVUGAME.com. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for students and youth 12 and under and $3 for groups of 10 or more. WVU students will be admitted for free with a valid WVU Student I.D.
 
Free parking will be available in the Band Lot next to the WVU track. Fans are encouraged to arrive early Saturday to avoid traffic.
 
Coming off their title-clinching performance at the 2018 Big 12 Soccer Championship, the Mountaineers (14-4-3, 7-2) are making their 19th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the fifth-longest streak nationally.
 
"I think we have something to prove back here in our stadium in front of our fans," Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. "We need to make sure we take care of business at home. I know the girls are excited about that and to be home and in our routine. Dlesk is sacred ground, and they want to redeem themselves."
 
WVU is 20-17-4 all-time in tournament matches and 11-5-2 in the first round. Dating back to the 2015 season, the Mountaineers have outscored their tournament opponents, 25-11, and have posted nine shutouts in their last 14 matches.
 
"Radford is a very offensive minded team with a couple of special players that we know we're going to have to be aware of," Izzo-Brown added. "They have an experienced team. I know it's going to be a tough team coming into town."
 
Saturday is the first-ever tournament meeting between WVU and Radford (16-2-1, 9-1 Big South). The Mountaineers are 2-0 all-time against the Highlanders, and in their last meeting in 2004, WVU tallied a 5-0 victory in Radford, Virginia.
 
Winners in 13 of their last 15 matches, WVU is outscoring its opponents, 38-11, this season. Fourteen different Mountaineers have combined for the goals, with senior forward Sh'Nia Gordon leading the way with a team-best seven goals and 16 points (7 G, 2 A). Four of her scores have been game-winners.
 
The Mountaineer defense has posted 11 clean sheets this year, including three straight at the Big 12 Championship, and ranks No. 7 nationally with a 0.505 goals-against average (GAA).  
 
Junior Ryle Foster has played all 21 matches between the posts and earned credit for 10 of the Mountaineers' shutouts. She ranks No. 12 nationally with a 0.512 GAA.
 
Big South Conference champion Radford won its sixth tournament title and earned the conference's automatic bid with a 1-0 win over No. 2-seed Gardner-Webb on Nov. 4, in Matthews, North Carolina. The Highlanders ride an 11-match win streak into Saturday's contest and have not lost since dropping a 2-1 decision at Gardner-Webb on Sept. 22. Radford's 16 wins match the program's single-season record, first set in 1997.
 
Senior midfielder Jasmine Casarez paces the Highlanders with 30 points (13 G, 4 A). She ranks No. 30 nationally with a 1.58 points/game average. Junior forward Natalie Perez ranks No. 13 nationally with a 0.53 assists/game average.
 
Radford has allowed 16 goals this season for a team GAA of 0.83. The Highlanders have posted 10 shutouts, eight credited to junior Courtenay Kaplan, who shows a 12-2-1 record and a 0.85 GAA.