Kansas City, Mo. – The West Virginia University women's soccer team opens the 2019 Big 12 Soccer Championship against No. 5-seed Kansas on Sunday, Nov. 3, in a quarterfinal match set for 3 p.m. ET at Swope Soccer Village, in Kansas City, Missouri.
 
Sunday's match will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Fans with questions about Big 12 Now on ESPN+ can click here to find answers to the most common questions about the new platform.
 
"It's always exciting to be back in Kansas City playing for a championship," coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. "It's everyone's goal to hoist the trophy so we will have to give it our all to defend our title."
 
The Mountaineers return to Kansas City as the defending Big 12 tournament champions after WVU defeated Baylor, 3-0, in 2018 to capture its fourth title at the Big 12 Soccer Championships and ninth league title overall.
 
West Virginia is 13-2-2 all-time at the Big 12 Soccer Championship and 13-1-2 at Swope Soccer Village. The Mountaineers have outscored opponents 28-7 in its previous 17 matches of the conference tournament and has won seven of the last eight matches in Kansas City.
 
The match marks the second meeting between the Mountaineers and Jayhawks in a 10-day span after the two teams battled to a 1-1 draw on Oct. 24. West Virginia is 7-1-1 all-time against Kansas and has outscored KU, 18-2, in the nine previous meetings.
 
The Mountaineers hold a 1-0 edge over Kansas in the conference tournament after WVU edged KU, 3-0, in the quarterfinal round of the 2013 Big 12 Soccer Championship.
 
WVU enters the Big 12 Championship as the fourth seed after concluding the regular season with a 10-6-1 overall record and a 5-3-1 mark in league play. The Mountaineers secured the fourth seed with a thrilling, 2-1 win over TCU on Oct. 31.
 
Senior goalkeeper Rylee Foster ranks third amongst all active student-athletes in Division I and places second on the school's career shutouts list with 37. Foster is third on the career shutouts list among active Division I players and ranks second in the Big 12 in shutouts (6) and saves (62 this season.
 
Sophomore forward Alina Stahl leads the Mountaineers with 12 points (5 G, 2 A) this season. Stahl also paces the team with three game-winners on the year.
 
"Kansas is a dynamic team that presents a lot of challenges with their offensive attack." Izzo-Brown continued. "Sunday's match will be a battle because both of the teams are going to fight hard to advance to next weekend."
 
Kansas is 12-4-3 (4-2-3 Big 12) this season and secured the No. 5 seed in the 2019 Big 12 Soccer Championship with a 2-1 win at Iowa State on Thursday.
 
Senior forward Katie McClure paces Kansas in points (33), goals (13) and assists (7) this season. McClure ranks 12th nationally in points and is 15th in the country in game-winning goals (5).
 
Sophomore Sarah Peters is the projected starter between the posts for KU. She has a record of 10-4-1 and leads the league with seven shutouts.
 
Mark Francis is in his 21st season as the head coach of the Jayhawks. He has an overall record of 231-167-37 at Kansas, including a 90-88-17 record in Big 12 play. Francis has led the Jayhawks to eight NCAA tournament appearances and guided KU to its first-ever Big 12 Championship in 2004.