MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University women's soccer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown has announced the addition of defender Sophia Nickel to the 2025 fall roster.
 
A native of Golden, Colorado, Nickel arrives in Morgantown after spending the 2024 season at Kansas. She will join the Mountaineer roster as a sophomore.
   
Nickel appeared in all 19 matches for the Jayhawks, logging 345 minutes on the season. As a member of the back line, she helped Kansas notch eight shutouts during the season. She attempted nine shots throughout the year and played a season-high 42 minutes against Friends on Sept. 15.
 
Prior to her time in Lawrence, Nickel graduated from Golden High School, playing four years on the varsity team for coaches Isaac Clark, Luke Meadows and Larry Harding. In 2024, she was named the 4A Jeffco Offensive Player of the Year and was honored on the all-state first team. Nickel also was named first team all-conference in 2021, 2022 and 2024. She received all-state honorable mention honors as a freshman in 2021 and made the all-conference second team in 2023.
 
Nickel scored 33 goals and notched 20 assists, playing in 48 career games at Golden High. She received CHSAA Academic All-State First Team honors each year from 2022-24.
 
At the club level, she played for the Colorado Rush for coach Russell Finch. Nickel helped the team win the GA Champions Cup in 2022, as her team went on to be named the academy's team of the year that season. She was honored as the Colorado Rush Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 and earned "Girl of the Game" honors three times throughout her career.
 
The daughter of Mike and Thu, Nickel plans to major in exercise physiology at WVU.

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