MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 7-ranked West Virginia University women's soccer team battles Baylor on Friday, Oct. 16, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET.
 
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. WVU hopes to invite spectators back to Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium for the team's final home game of the fall on Oct. 30.
 
Nick Farrell and Adam Zundell have the call of Friday's contest 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.
 
"(Baylor) is a team that does their system better than anyone in the country," WVU coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. "They will disrupt you, they'll bring an incredible amount of intensity to the game, and they all buy-in to the way they need to play. We definitely know it's going to be a really hard-fought game."
 
Friday marks the 10th overall meeting between the Mountaineers (4-1, 4-1 Big 12) and Bears (1-1-3, 1-1-3 Big 12). WVU leads the all-time series, 6-2-1, despite BU winning two of the last three matchups. Last year, the Bears took down West Virginia, 4-2, on Oct. 3, 2019, at Betty Lou Mays Field in Waco, Texas.
 
After Baylor opened the scoring in the 50th minute, WVU tied the match at 1 in the 57th, thanks to a Bears' own goal. From there, BU scored three straight goals, before Lizzie Mayfield drew the Mountaineers within two of the lead in the 82nd minute. In all, Baylor outshot WVU, 17-10, including 12-5 in shots on goal. In goal, Rylee Foster made eight saves for West Virginia in the setback.
 
The result marked WVU's first-ever loss in Waco.
 
The Mountaineers are coming off a 2-1 win over Texas Tech on Oct. 9, at John Walker Soccer Complex in Lubbock, Texas. Sophomore forward/defender Julianne Vallerand gave West Virginia the lead in the 47th minute, before senior midfielder Stefany Ferrer-vanGinkel tallied the eventual game-winner in the 82nd. A trio of juniors – midfielder Isabella Sibley, defender Jordan Brewster and forward Alina Stahl – earned assists in the win.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Kayza Massey made one save and was credited with the victory in her 2020 season debut. Defensively, WVU limited the Red Raiders to just two shots on the night. West Virginia fired 15 shots in the win, including eight on goal. Stahl led the way with four shots, while Ferrer-vanGinkel and Vallerand each had three – all on goal.
 
Following the contest, Ferrer-vanGinkel was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week and was selected for the Women's Team of the Week by TopDrawerSoccer.com. Her game-winning goal against TTU was her second of the season and third of her career.
 
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 fourth consecutive week that WVU ranks inside the nation's top 10 to begin the season.
 
West Virginia entered the week ranked No. 6 nationally in points per game (6.2), shots on goal per game (8.0) and corner kicks per game (7.2), No. 7 in shot accuracy (.563) and No. 8 in scoring offense (2.2). Individually, Ferrer-vanGinkel sits No. 2 in the country in game-winning goals (2) and No. 11 in total goals (3), while Brewster and Sibley are tied for No. 16 nationally in total assists (2).
 
Baylor is led by eighth-year coach Paul Jobson, who holds an 85-48-20 mark with the Bears. BU is coming off a 2-0 win over then-No. 5 Kansas on Oct. 9, in Waco. In all, the Bears have only allowed two goals all season and have collected four clean sheets.
 
BU, which finished 8-8-3 last season, is led by freshman forward Mackenzie Anthony, who paces the squad with three points (1G, 1A), 19 shots and 11 shots on goal. Additionally, senior goalkeeper Jennifer Wandt has made 24 saves this season, helping BU rank No. 6 nationally in save percentage (.923).
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUWomensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.