Nickel and Mountaineer Defense Lead WVU to Top-20 Win Over BYU

Thursday, October 8

Morgantown, W.Va.

7 p.m.

West Virginia University

8-1-2, 3-1-1

No. 20 BYU

7-3-2, 3-1-1

Team	1	2	Final F
BYU	0	0	0
West Virginia	0	2	2

Sophia Nickel and Maya Leoni celebrate after a goal.

Nickel and Mountaineer Defense Lead WVU to Top-20 Win Over BYU

October 08, 2026 10:57 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Season Stats

By: Olivia Sneed

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Behind a pair of goals from junior forward/defender Sophia Nickel and the defense's third-straight shutout, the No. 16-ranked West Virginia University women's soccer team secured a 2-0 victory over No. 20 BYU at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown on Thursday night.

Nickel scored her sixth and seventh goals of the year against the Cougars, with the first goal of the night marking her sixth game-winning of the season. The Golden, Colorado, native leads the team and the Big 12 Conference, while she is No. 2 in the NCAA in game-winning goals this year. Furthermore, her two-goal performance was the first of her career and marked the first brace for a Mountaineer since Nov. 14, 2025.

Additionally, West Virginia secured its second top-25 win of the season, marking WVU's first season with multiple wins over a top-25 team since 2022 when it recorded three.

The WVU defense also tallied its sixth clean sheet of the year, behind a career-high tying nine saves from redshirt senior goalkeeper Bailey Herfurth. The Northport, New York, native notched her highest single-game save performance since 2025 and preserved the shutout by stopping multiple long-range shots by the BYU offense. Herfurth and the WVU back line are second in the Big 12 with six clean sheets on the year.

After a scoreless first half, Nickel got West Virginia on the board just minutes into the second half after a pair of excellent passes from senior midfielder Maya Leoni and senior forward Saige Wimes found Nickel waiting in the box.

When it looked like the Cougars would equalize, Nickle struck again, scoring on the rebound after senior forward Abbey Olexa's shot attempt was saved by the BYU keeper. Nickel's insurance goal gave WVU the 2-0 lead with eight minutes remaining, as the squad held on to the win and the shutout in the waning minutes of the match.

Despite the score line, BYU led in every statistical category, including 19-9 in shots, 9-5 in shots on goal and 6-5 in corner kicks. Wimes led the Mountaineers with three shots, while Nickel shot 100% with two shots and two goals.

With the win, WVU takes a 2-1 lead in the all-time series with BYU, as the Cougars made their first-ever trip to Morgantown Thursday night.

Women's Soccer tickets are on sale now at WVUGame.com

Up next, West Virginia returns to Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 11, to play host to Utah at 12 p.m. ET. It's Senior Day, and the Mountaineers will honor 10 senior members of the squad for their contributions to the program prior to kickoff.

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