MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — No. 22 WVU Women’s Soccer (3-0-0) came into Sunday’s matinee riding the momentum of one of its biggest wins in recent memory, taking down No. 23 Penn State, 2-1, on Thursday for its first victory over the Nittany Lions since 2017.
But the Mountaineers faced a different challenge against Duquesne, aiming to avoid a letdown while building onto their strong start to the season. Read more: Nickel, Koss lead West Virginia past Duquesne, 2-0.
West Virginia entered Sunday’s matchup having never lost to the Dukes, holding a 12-0-2 advantage in the all-time series. Still, the Mountaineers once again found themselves playing from behind the pace early, as slow starts have been a theme through the opening matches of the season.
For the third consecutive game, West Virginia had yet to hold a lead at halftime.
A habit of slow starts
West Virginia came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders, taking three shots in the first 20 minutes.
The Mountaineers looked to have an answer, but an offside call wiped away a potential goal. With 15 minutes remaining in the half, West Virginia created another dangerous opportunity from a set piece, but the ball pinballed around the box without finding the back of the net.
Despite the consistent pressure, the Mountaineers remained scoreless.
Sophia Nickel said the team knew it needed to remain composed rather than force the attack.
“We have to stay calm,” Nickel said after the match. “I feel like we struggle the most when we’re starting to shoot things forward and not possessing through the middle.”
That patience eventually paid off.
Nickel breaks through
With 13:29 remaining in the match, Nickel found the back of the net to give West Virginia the lead. She received the ball before firing a right-footed shot into the bottom-right corner of the goal, putting the Mountaineers ahead, 1-0.
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The goal marked Nickel’s third of the season, with all three coming as a substitute. Redshirt senior midfielder Alexis Pashales was credited with the assist.
Nickel has embraced her role off the bench, making an impact in each of West Virginia’s first three matches.
“For me, whenever I come on as a sub I want to be able to prove that I can make a difference, and I try and do that every time I come off the bench,” Nickel said.
Head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said Nickel’s ability to immediately adjust to the flow of a match has made her especially effective in that role.
“I think that for Sophia, really just getting a feel for the game quickly, I think that’s always hard, but also being laser-focused on what’s happening with the minutes that she’s on the bench,” Izzo-Brown said.
Nickel’s goal came after West Virginia had held down the pressure for an opening late in the match.
“I even looked up at the clock and I was like, OK, we need to score,” Nickel said. “We need to just settle the ball, play around, play the way we do, and then hopefully finish one in the back.”
West Virginia adds insurance
West Virginia did not have to wait long to tack on another goal.
With 8:30 remaining, sophomore Gianna Koss found the back of the net, firing a right-footed shot into the bottom-right corner to extend the Mountaineers’ advantage to 2-0.
The goal came at the 81:30 mark and gave West Virginia some much-needed insurance late in the match.
Nickel credited Koss for being in the right place at the right time.
“G was kind of just in the right place at the right time and we’ll take any goal,” Nickel said.
Izzo-Brown echoed that sentiment, saying the Mountaineers’ will eventually created the opportunity.
“I believe in karma, so I guess so,” Izzo-Brown said. “I’ll take it. There’s no ugly goals.”
The Mountaineers pressed Duquesne throughout the final minutes, forcing the Dukes to defend until the final whistle.
Duquesne never found an answer to either West Virginia goal, as the Mountaineers secured a 2-0 victory and moved to 3-0-0 on the season. The Dukes now sit at 1-2-0 through their first three outings.
The win also marked West Virginia’s first Sunday match of the season, something Izzo-Brown said was important after Thursday’s emotional victory over Penn State.
“This was our first Sunday, so we really needed to see, you know, how we do with a Thursday-Sunday because that’s a monster, and I thought that the girls did really well with that,” Izzo-Brown said.
West Virginia now turns its attention to the road, traveling to Princeton, New Jersey, to take on Princeton in its next match. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Roberts Stadium on Thursday.
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