LUBBOCK, TEXAS – The West Virginia University women's soccer team opens Big 12 Conference play at No. 22 Texas Tech on Friday, Sept. 21, with first kick at John Walker Soccer Complex set for 8 p.m. EST.
 
After opening the 2018 season with three draws in the first four matches, the Mountaineers (4-2-3) have found their stride as of late and ride a three-match win streak into their meeting with the Red Raiders (8-1).  
 
The five-time Big 12 Conference champions (2012-16), WVU finished second in the conference in 2017 with a 7-1-1 showing. The Mountaineers own a 42-2-4 all-time record in Big 12 play, good enough for a .917 win percentage, the best win percentage over a six-year span for any team in conference history.
 
WVU is 5-0-1 in all-time Big 12 Conference season openers.
 
"We're so excited to start Big 12 play," Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. "We know it's going to be the little things that add up to the big things. Nothing like going on the road against opponents who are having incredible starts to their seasons. We'll follow the lead of our nine seniors, and we need to make sure we learned our lessons well in nonconference play.
 
"Texas Tech has only allowed three goals thus far, and we know they're a tough defensive team to break. They have special players we need to be aware of, and they're a tough team from the back to the front."
 
Friday is WVU's first match in Lubbock since earning a 4-1 victory on Oct. 11, 2015. Senior forward Sh'Nia Gordon tallied her third career game-winner in the 49th minute, and WVU finished with a 17-9 edge in shots.
 
The teams met twice in 2017. The first meeting, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium on Oct. 19, ended in a 1-1 (2OT) draw, with the Mountaineers outshooting the Red Raiders, 35-11, and forcing Marissa Zucchetto into eight saves. Rylee Foster made two stops for WVU.
 
Less than one month later, the Mountaineers rolled past the Red Raiders, 3-1, in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Big 12 Soccer Championship on Nov. 1, at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri. Zucchetto made five saves for TTU, who finished with four shots, and Foster stopped two for WVU, who tallied 25 shots and earned a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks.
 
The Mountaineers are 6-2-1 all-time against the Red Raiders and have outscored TTU, 16-5, in their last seven meetings.
 
The WVU defense has been stellar throughout the team's current win streak, tallying two shutouts and allowing just seven combined opponent shots. Last week, the Mountaineers denied Boston University and Saint Francis (Pa.) a shot in respective 4-0 and 2-0 wins at Dick Dlesk Stadium.
 
The Mountaineers rank No. 4 in the Big 12 Conference with a 0.621 goals-against average (GAA). Foster, who currently ranks No. 5 in program history with 23 career clean sheets, ranks No. 5 in the Big 12 with a 0.642 GAA.
 
Sophomore midfielder Stefany Ferrer-vanGinkel has scored three goals in the last three matches and paces the WVU attack with seven points (3 G, 1 A). Gordon ranks No. 2 on the team with two goals. The pair tallied the game-winning scores against BU and SFU, respectively.
 
TTU rides a four-match win streak into Friday. The Red Raiders have outscored their opponents, 14-1, in that time span and have allowed just three goals all season.
 
Most recently, TTU earned a 2-0 win at Loyola Marymount on Sept. 16. Senior midfielder Jordan Duke netted the game-winner in the 54th minute, and sophomore forward Kirsten Davis added an insurance goal in the 87th minute. Zucchetto, a sophomore, made one save.
 
Junior forward Jade King paces the Red Raiders with 12 points on a team-best six goals, including three game-winners, the top total in the Big 12 and No. 13 nationally. She also ranks No. 2 in the conference with a 0.67 goals/game average. Zucchetto has played all 810:00 minutes between the posts and shows a 0.33 GAA, the best mark in the conference and No. 9 nationally.