PROVO, Utah – In a thrilling and high-scoring league battle, the West Virginia University women's soccer team (6-2-1, 1-0-1 Big 12) earned a top-25 win over No. 16 BYU, topping the Cougars 3-2 at South Field in Provo, Utah, on Wednesday night.
 
The win marked WVU's first over a ranked foe since Nov. 6, 2022, when it topped No. 17 TCU to win the 2022 Big 12 Tournament. It also is the program's first ranked win on the road since Nov. 16, 2019, at No. 25 Georgetown. Additionally, the Mountaineers handed BYU its first Big 12 Conference loss at home since joining the league in 2023.
 
West Virginia has now defeated a top-25 opponent in 17 of the last 20 seasons, while it has topped a ranked foe 44 times since 2006.
 
Three different Mountaineers found the back of the net in the victory, including junior midfielder Maya Leoni, freshman midfielder Layla Thompson and senior forward Taylor White. White's goal was credited as the game winner, which marked her team-leading fourth score of the season as well as the 20th tally of her Mountaineer career.
 
Leoni opened the scoring in the 25th minute, scoring her second goal of the season. White was credited with the assist on the score, as she delivered a beautiful ball just into the top of the box to help set up Leoni for the go-ahead score. West Virginia then took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
 
Out of the half, it became a defensive battle for West Virginia as it worked to deny a Cougar equalizer. Despite a stout WVU defense, BYU drew level in the 68th minute. However, just 16 seconds later, the Mountaineers reclaimed their lead with an incredible one-touch score from Thompson. White once again assisted the tally, as Thompson recorded her first career goal.
 
White and the offense didn't stop there, as she got a boot on a goal of her own in the 73rd minute. Junior defender Olivia Shertzer serviced a long ball across midfield that found White, who expertly faked out the BYU defender to give the Mountaineers the insurance tally. The insurance would come in handy in the 89th minute when BYU added another to make it 3-2, but it wouldn't be enough as WVU walked away with the upset victory.
 
Offensively, the game was very close, with BYU narrowly edging West Virginia 15-13 in shots. WVU took a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal, while the Cougars won the corner kick battle, 8-3. White was excellent Wednesday night, quarterbacking the offense with the goal, two assists, two shots on goal and three shots.
 
Even though it allowed two goals in the contest, the Mountaineer defense was excellent yet again, holding BYU to just three shots on frame in the match. The goals marked the first allowed by WVU's defense since Aug. 24, while they also marked the first against junior keeper Bailey Herfurth this season. Of note, Herfurth was the last goalkeeper in the nation to concede a goal and led the country in goals-against average (min. 50% of team's minutes).
 
With the win, WVU leveled the series with BYU at 1-1, earning its first win over the Cougars. Of note, Wednesday's contest marked the two teams' first matchup since 2009, as well as their first in Provo.
 
Up next, West Virginia will cap its trip out west with a matchup at Utah on Saturday, Sept. 27. Kickoff at Ute Field in Salt Lake City, Utah, is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUWomensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.