No. 7 WVU women’s soccer looking to carry momentum onto the road
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MORGANTOWN -- West Virginia women's soccer is 3-0 on the season for the first time in two decades. 2006 was the last time the Mountaineers started the season 3-0, when it beat Richmond, James Madison and Western Michigan to start the year on a seven-game win streak.
It’s been so long because head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown doesn't ease the team into the year ever. The Mountaineers face ranked opponents, mostly in the top 10, and one of them is usually rival Penn State. The Mountaineers finally beat the Nittany Lions, 2-1, securing their first win over them since 2017.
With the 3-0 record and the win over top 25-ranked Penn State, WVU shot up from No. 22 to No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, which is the poll recognized by the NCAA. This is the first time WVU is ranked in the top 10 since 2021. The Mountaineers are the highest-ranked Big 12 team, ahead of Colorado at No. 12, UCF at No. 14, BYU at No. 15 and Kansas rounding out the group at No. 17.
The team is riding high, rewriting a lot of history, but it's still very early in the long season, so the team needs to keep the momentum rolling.
"Just keeping us focused on different measures and different things that we’re going to have to do or haven’t done," Izzo-Brown said. "It’s just focusing and refocusing."
All three of the first games were at home, and now WVU hits the road for the first time this season against Princeton today at 7 p.m., and Sunday on Aug. 30 at Army at 1 p.m. Princeton is 1-1, after losing to Syracuse its last time out, and Army is 2-2, coming off a 3-0 win over Vermont.
The plan is to stay on the road after the Princeton game, instead of coming back to Morgantown, and just travel to Army the days after.
"For the first time this season, we are headed to Princeton, and then to Army,” Izzo-Brown said. “We will be challenged in many different ways, so we’re looking forward to seeing what this road travel will bring."
WVU has the firepower to keep the hot streak up on the road. The Mountaineers have found their "spark plug" off the bench, junior Sophia Nickel. Nickel has a goal in each game of the season. She had one goal in her two-year career prior, and already has three goals this season.
Izzo-Brown said Nickel is settling in after a full year at WVU. She transferred from Kansas before last season.
"Experience is everything," Izzo-Brown said. "I also really believe that she just is a great locker room player. She just wants to go out there, win for the team, and she’ll do it in whatever capacity we ask her to do it. She’s really embraced that spark plug role. She's a real smart kid. She’s also got two years under her belt, so we really appreciate that."
The defense has also been elite. The Mountaineers have allowed just one goal in three games. Shutouts are important, not only for team morale, but they could be a factor when deciding placement in postseason tournaments.
The team is really physical, helping on defense. It's not just the defenders that are physical, but the midfielders and forwards aren't afraid to challenge on headers and loose balls.
When Izzo-Brown was building the team, she was looking for physical players.
"You gotta love contact," Izzo-Brown said. "You gotta love to get in and get gritty. Really have a little bit of a bite about you. We are definitely looking for that mentality."
WVU's defense will face Dylan Jovanovic, who leads Princeton in points and scored a goal, and Army's three-goal scorer Kamryn McWhinney. Both will test the Mountaineers defense.
But the challenge will be keeping the momentum up on the road and seeing how this team handles playing in an environment that's not the one at Dick Dlesk Stadium.
"We have to be able to travel and travel well," Izzo-Brown said. "Recover on the road, and make sure not only the coaches are taking care of that, but we’re also listening to the players when we’re on the road."