MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 7-ranked West Virginia University women's soccer team returns home to take on Texas on Friday, Oct. 2. Kickoff at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown is set for 7 p.m. ET.
 
Nick Farrell and Adam Zundell have the call on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. For more information, or to sign up for the digital platform, visit WVUsports.com/Big12Now. The game also can be heard on 91.7 FM (WWVU) in Morgantown. Live stats are available at WVUsports.com.
 
Due to safety precautions from the COVID-19 pandemic, only essential game operations personnel and families of the players and women's soccer staff will be admitted into the stadium.
 
"They are very organized; (Texas coach) Angela (Kelly) does a great job with them," WVU coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. "They are bringing in top-level recruits, and they are a very disciplined team. We know they are going to cause us all sorts of problems because of the athletes they have there. Technically, tactically and physically, we know the Texas game is always going to be a brawl."
 
Friday marks the 12th overall meeting between the Mountaineers (2-1, 2-1 Big 12) and Longhorns (1-2, 1-2 Big 12). WVU is 8-2-1 all-time against UT, with victories in five of the last six matchups, including three in a row. Additionally, West Virginia is 3-0 against the Longhorns in Morgantown.
 
In last year's meeting, junior midfielder Addison Clark scored a golden goal in the 104th minute to help WVU to a 2-1, double-overtime win over Texas on Oct. 6, 2019, at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas. Sophomore forward Enzi Broussard put the Mountaineers on the board in the 49th minute, before Clark's heroics in extra time. Jessica Lisi and sophomore defender Nicole Payne recorded assists in the victory.
 
WVU tallied 26 shots, including 10 on goal, in the win.
 
Last time out, the Mountaineers fell in heartbreaking fashion at then-No. 6 Oklahoma State on Sept. 25, in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The host Cowgirls scored the game-winning goal with just 26 seconds to play in double overtime to claim a dramatic, 2-1 win. After conceding a goal in the 51st minute, senior midfielder Stefany Ferrer-vanGinkel found the equalizer for WVU off a free kick in the 76th minute to tie the match at 1. It wasn't until the 110th minute when OSU cashed in on the golden goal.
 
Junior goalkeeper Maddie Murphy made a career-high five saves in the setback. Despite the loss, WVU outshot Oklahoma State, 13-11.
 
The Mountaineers were slotted No. 7 in this week's United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Women's National Poll, which was released on Tuesday. It marks the second consecutive week that WVU ranks inside the nation's top 10 to begin the year.
 
WVU enters the match ranked No. 4 nationally in assists per game (2.0), No. 6 in shots on goal per game (8.33), No. 8 in total goals (7) and No. 9 in total points (20). Individually, Broussard and Ferrer-vanGinkel sit No. 13 nationally and No. 2 in the Big 12 in goals (2).
 
Texas is led by ninth-year coach Angela Kelly, who holds a mark of 86-58-20 with the Longhorns. UT began the 2020 campaign with season-opening losses to Kansas (1-0) on Sept. 11, and at TCU (3-0) on Sept 18, before topping Oklahoma (1-0) on Sept. 25.
 
Texas, which was picked fifth in the Big 12 Preseason Poll, finished 11-8-1 in 2019, including a 6-3 mark in the Big 12. The squad reached the NCAA Tournament, before falling in the first round to Texas A&M.
 
Senior midfielder Haley Berg leads the squad offensively after registering 25 points (8G, 9A) last fall. So far, freshman forward Presley Echols has scored Texas' lone goal this season.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUWomensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.