Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Women’s Soccer Kicks Off 2026-27 WVU Athletics Season Against Dayton
August 12, 2026 03:33 PM | Women's Soccer
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women's soccer team begins its 30-year anniversary campaign when it welcomes Dayton to Morgantown on Thursday, Aug. 13. Action inside Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium is set for 7 p.m. ET.
In addition to marking the first contest of the 2026-27 WVU Athletics season, the Mountaineers will be hosting a Back-to-School Drive during Thursday's match. Fans will be given a raffle ticket to win a WVU women's soccer jersey, signed by head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown, for every two items donated. The winner of the raffle will be announced at halftime.
There's still time to purchase season tickets ahead of the 2026 season opener. Season ticket pricing is set at $75 + fees, while fans also have the opportunity to purchase an exclusive WVU soccer scarf as part of a bundled offer for $90 + fees. Scarves will be available only through this package and will not be sold separately. All season tickets will be sold as general admission only.
Single-game tickets also are available to purchase in advance by visiting WVUGAME.com or calling 1-800-WVU GAME. When purchasing online, tickets are $12 each. Any remaining tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for youth and seniors at the stadium ticket window on match day.
New for the 2026 season, all student tickets for WVU's Olympic sports will transition to mobile delivery. Students will now be required to log in to their WVUGAME.com account to reserve a student ticket for each home athletics event. For Olympic sports, there is no request process. Students will simply log in to their account using the single sign-on functionality, navigate to the sport of the event they would like to attend and reserve a ticket.
Andrew Caridi and Adam Zundell have the call of Thursday's contest on ESPN+. The game also can be heard on 91.7 FM (WWVU) in Morgantown, and live stats are available at WVUsports.com.
Entering her 31st season as the program's only head coach, Izzo-Brown has led the Mountaineers to a 416-146-80 overall record. WVU returns 16 letterwinners off the 2025 squad, as well as eight starters. Ten newcomers are set to join the team this fall, including six freshmen and four transfers.
Also of note, women's soccer will celebrate the program's 30-year anniversary in 2026. Throughout the season, fans can relive the program's most memorable moments with acknowledgments of the team's rich history. Beginning with Thursday's season opener, the Mountaineers will celebrate 30 years of varsity status, dating back to 1996. Izzo-Brown accepted perhaps her greatest challenge on Aug. 3, 1995, when then-WVU Director of Athletics Ed Pastilong named her the first head coach of West Virginia's women's soccer program. The only coach in program history, Izzo-Brown has since built a one-time infant program into one of the nation's elite teams.
Seven players return to the team this season who logged 1,000 minutes or more in 2025. Senior defender Nyema Ingleton is the most experienced returner this season, as she led the squad in 2025 with 1,797 minutes played. Senior forward Abbey Olexa will lead WVU's returning scoring efforts, as she was tied for second on the team with six goals in 2025. In all, WVU returns nine players who scored at least once last season. West Virginia's returning scorers accounted for 25 of the team's 42 goals last season. Additionally, 15 different players tallied at least one point in 2025, as 11 of those point earners return to the squad this year.
Ingleton, senior midfielder Anna Hauer and redshirt junior goalkeeper Bailey Herfurth were named to the 2026 Preseason All-Big 12 Team, marking their first career preseason honors as a Mountaineers. West Virginia was picked to finish third in the 2026 Big 12 Preseason Poll, as selected by the league's 16 head coaches. The Mountaineers finished second in the conference in 2025 after being slotted at No. 4 in the preseason poll.
Thursday's matchup marks just the third-ever meeting between West Virginia and Dayton, as well as the second in the last two seasons after the Mountaineers traveled to Dayton for the first time last season. WVU owns a 2-0 record against the Flyers. The two teams met for the first time on Aug. 26, 2005, as the Mountaineers claimed a 3-1 in Morgantown. In last year's meeting, West Virginia claimed a 2-0 win behind a pair of goals from Olexa, while Hauer and Maddie Levy added assists in the win.
Eric Golz is in his 10th season as the head coach at Dayton, as the Flyers are coming off a 15-4-3 campaign and an Atlantic 10 Championship in 2025. The win marked Dayton's 11th Atlantic 10 Championship, earning the conference's automatic bid in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The Flyers return their two leading scorers from 2025 to this year's roster. Liv Grenda and Laney Smith accounted for 12 goals, nine assists and 33 points a season ago.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUWomensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
In addition to marking the first contest of the 2026-27 WVU Athletics season, the Mountaineers will be hosting a Back-to-School Drive during Thursday's match. Fans will be given a raffle ticket to win a WVU women's soccer jersey, signed by head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown, for every two items donated. The winner of the raffle will be announced at halftime.
There's still time to purchase season tickets ahead of the 2026 season opener. Season ticket pricing is set at $75 + fees, while fans also have the opportunity to purchase an exclusive WVU soccer scarf as part of a bundled offer for $90 + fees. Scarves will be available only through this package and will not be sold separately. All season tickets will be sold as general admission only.
Single-game tickets also are available to purchase in advance by visiting WVUGAME.com or calling 1-800-WVU GAME. When purchasing online, tickets are $12 each. Any remaining tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for youth and seniors at the stadium ticket window on match day.
New for the 2026 season, all student tickets for WVU's Olympic sports will transition to mobile delivery. Students will now be required to log in to their WVUGAME.com account to reserve a student ticket for each home athletics event. For Olympic sports, there is no request process. Students will simply log in to their account using the single sign-on functionality, navigate to the sport of the event they would like to attend and reserve a ticket.
Andrew Caridi and Adam Zundell have the call of Thursday's contest on ESPN+. The game also can be heard on 91.7 FM (WWVU) in Morgantown, and live stats are available at WVUsports.com.
Entering her 31st season as the program's only head coach, Izzo-Brown has led the Mountaineers to a 416-146-80 overall record. WVU returns 16 letterwinners off the 2025 squad, as well as eight starters. Ten newcomers are set to join the team this fall, including six freshmen and four transfers.
Also of note, women's soccer will celebrate the program's 30-year anniversary in 2026. Throughout the season, fans can relive the program's most memorable moments with acknowledgments of the team's rich history. Beginning with Thursday's season opener, the Mountaineers will celebrate 30 years of varsity status, dating back to 1996. Izzo-Brown accepted perhaps her greatest challenge on Aug. 3, 1995, when then-WVU Director of Athletics Ed Pastilong named her the first head coach of West Virginia's women's soccer program. The only coach in program history, Izzo-Brown has since built a one-time infant program into one of the nation's elite teams.
Seven players return to the team this season who logged 1,000 minutes or more in 2025. Senior defender Nyema Ingleton is the most experienced returner this season, as she led the squad in 2025 with 1,797 minutes played. Senior forward Abbey Olexa will lead WVU's returning scoring efforts, as she was tied for second on the team with six goals in 2025. In all, WVU returns nine players who scored at least once last season. West Virginia's returning scorers accounted for 25 of the team's 42 goals last season. Additionally, 15 different players tallied at least one point in 2025, as 11 of those point earners return to the squad this year.
Ingleton, senior midfielder Anna Hauer and redshirt junior goalkeeper Bailey Herfurth were named to the 2026 Preseason All-Big 12 Team, marking their first career preseason honors as a Mountaineers. West Virginia was picked to finish third in the 2026 Big 12 Preseason Poll, as selected by the league's 16 head coaches. The Mountaineers finished second in the conference in 2025 after being slotted at No. 4 in the preseason poll.
Thursday's matchup marks just the third-ever meeting between West Virginia and Dayton, as well as the second in the last two seasons after the Mountaineers traveled to Dayton for the first time last season. WVU owns a 2-0 record against the Flyers. The two teams met for the first time on Aug. 26, 2005, as the Mountaineers claimed a 3-1 in Morgantown. In last year's meeting, West Virginia claimed a 2-0 win behind a pair of goals from Olexa, while Hauer and Maddie Levy added assists in the win.
Eric Golz is in his 10th season as the head coach at Dayton, as the Flyers are coming off a 15-4-3 campaign and an Atlantic 10 Championship in 2025. The win marked Dayton's 11th Atlantic 10 Championship, earning the conference's automatic bid in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The Flyers return their two leading scorers from 2025 to this year's roster. Liv Grenda and Laney Smith accounted for 12 goals, nine assists and 33 points a season ago.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUWomensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Soccer
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/ Women's Soccer
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/ Women's SoccerWednesday, August 12
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