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WVU women booters open campaign today

MORGANTOWN — The 11th-ranked West Virginia University women’s soccer team opens its 2019 season with a matchup against Duquesne at 7 p.m. today at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

Tonight also marks the 2019 season opener for the Dukes, who concluded the 2018 season with a 6-9-2 overall record.

The match marks the 11th time the two schools have met, with West Virginia holding an 8-0-2 overall record against the Dukes.

“From my perspective, I’m never ready (for the start of the season), Duquesne is a very dangerous team,” Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “Coaches always want more opportunities to coach up young teams. This game is going to be exciting, but I always want more training opportunities.

“Duquesne brings in really high-quality kids, they have players that can finish and they also have some players that move the ball well and that can always cause some problems.”

Thirteen letterwinners return from a 2018 campaign which saw the Mountaineers advance to the NCAA Tournament second round for the fourth time in as many seasons.

WVU finished the year at 15-4-4 and captured the 2018 Big 12 Tournament title after recording a 7-2-1 mark in the league.

Senior Rylee Foster, a 2019 Preseason All-Big 12 selection, returns for her fourth season in net.

A native of Cambridge, Ontario, Foster has started all 63 career matches she has been available, while recording a career goals-against average (GAA) of 0.55, which ranks No. 1 in program history. She also ranks No. 3 in program history with 31 career shutouts and No. 4 with 5,765:49 minutes played.

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