West Virginia Soars to NCAA First Round Win Over Wagner

Friday, November 14

Morgantown, W.Va.

7 p.m.

West Virginia University

14-3-3, 8-0-3

Wagner

11-3-6, 8-1-2

Wagner

West Virginia

November 15, 2025 12:05 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Season Stats

By: Olivia Sneed

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 16-ranked and No. 7-seed West Virginia University women's soccer team (14-3-3, 8-0-3 Big 12) secured a dominant, 5-0 win over Wagner in the First Round of the 2025 Division I Women's Soccer Tournament inside Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown on Friday night.

The Mountaineers used goals from three different scorers to earn the victory, as junior forward Abbey Olexa and sophomore forward Alicia Riggins tallied two goals apiece. The scores marked the first of Riggins' collegiate career, while Olexa's brace marked her second of the year. WVU has now featured a two-goal scorer seven times this season.

Of note, West Virginia's victory marked its first NCAA Tournament win since topping Virginia Tech in the First Round on Nov. 13, 2022, in Morgantown. The Mountaineers improve to 24-20-6 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, while the 5-0 win marks their largest margin of victory in a tournament game since beating Radford 6-0 on Nov. 10, 2018.

WVU didn't waste any time getting on the board as junior midfielder Anna Hauer converted a penalty kick in just the first minute of the match after the Seahawks were whistled for a handball in the box. The goal marked West Virginia's first penalty kick of the season, while it was the second-fastest goal scored in program history. Hauer's score was her fourth of the campaign, and her tally would eventually be credited as the game winner, her third of the year.

Olexa was next to find the back of the net, scoring her first goal of the match in the 22nd minute. Sophomore Maddie Levy was credited with the assist, as she battled to win the ball in the box before tapping it over to Olexa for the score.

West Virginia's impressive first half was capped by back-to-back scores from Riggins, as she notched the first two goals of her career in the 40th and 42nd minutes. Freshman midfielder Layla Thompson assisted the first score, which was an impressive strike from about 30 yards out. Then just two minutes later, freshman forward Kailyn Effah and sophomore forward Alexis Re put together a pair of one-touch passes to set up Riggins for her second score of the match and send WVU to the break with a 4-0 lead.

In the second half, Olexa completed her brace and capped an impressive offensive showing for the Mountaineers with a strike in the 57th minute. Senior forward Taylor White and Levy assisted the score, as Levy sent the ball ahead to White, who then found Olexa across the box for the goal. A native of Pine Beach, New Jersey, Olexa now has six goals on the year to tie for second on the team. White moves to a team-best nine assists this year, and Levy now boasts seven helpers on the season.

The Mountaineers dominated the stat sheet from top to bottom, recording season highs with 34 shots and 18 shots on goal. West Virginia also earned five corner kicks compared while not giving up any corners to Wagner. Redshirt junior goalkeeper Bailey Herfurth and the WVU defense secured its 11th shutout of the campaign, holding Wagner to just one shot in the match.

Friday's contest marked the first between West Virginia and Wagner, as WVU improves to 3-0-1 against first-time opponents this season.

The Mountaineers now look ahead to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, where they will take on No. 2-seed Georgetown on Thursday, Nov. 20, at Shaw Field in Washington, D.C. The game time will be announced at a later date.

For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUWomensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.