Despite being ranked No. 16 in the nation currently, WVU Women’s Soccer (9-4-2, Big 12 4-4-1) is suddenly in danger of missing the Big 12 Women’s Soccer Tournament. Read more: WVU Women’s Soccer on the cusp of falling out of Big 12 Tournament.
The Mountaineers have dropped to eighth in the Big 12 standings after its loss to Oklahoma State on Sunday — its third straight.
Related: WVU women’s soccer drops third straight 2-1 at Oklahoma State
WVU’s 4-4-1 conference record gives them just 13 points in the standings. It trails seventh-place UCF by three points and leads ninth-place Arizona and Arizona State by three points.
With just two games remaining in the regular season, WVU has no room for error.
The three losses
WVU’s three-game slide began on October 16 when it was shut out by UCF at Dick Dlesk Stadium, 1-0.
The Mountaineers gave up the lone goal to the Knights in the 25th minute.
Overall, WVU outshot UCF 14-3 and had five shots on goal. UCF only put one shot on goal, and it was all UCF needed to win the contest.
The Mountaineers then began a two-game road trip and lost to both No. 14 Texas Tech, 2-1, and Oklahoma State, 2-1.
WVU ultimately struggled to put up shots on goal against Texas Tech and was outshot 20-9.
The Mountaineers did have the lead, scoring the first goal of the game in the seventh minute. However, the Red Raiders capitalized when it scored in the 25th and 56th minutes.
WVU was more competitive against Oklahoma State but still was once again outshot. The Cowgirls had five more shots (15-10) and two more shots on goal (8-6).
The Mountaineers once again had the first goal of the game in the 50th minute. Then, the Cowgirls found the back of the net late in the contest in the 59th and 89th minutes to seal the deal.
Prior to the three-game skid, WVU won four straight conference games, three of which were shutouts. The Mountaineers also did not lose a game in non-conference play, going 5-0-1.
The loss to UCF was also the Mountaineers first of the season at home.
What Head Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown had to say about the loss
Ahead of the final two games of the season, WVU Women’s Soccer Head Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown met with the media Monday.
With a lot on the line headed into the end of the season, Izzo-Brown’s message to the team was to be aware of what needs to change.
“This group knows that, you know, we really just got to lock in and pay attention to some details. Obviously losing three games with PKs is not something that we want to continue to do and give away goals like that,” Izzo-Brown said.
Overall, Izzo-Brown wants the team to finish strong to build momentum towards the postseason.
“You know, the one thing is our league is so strong,” Izzo-Brown said. “We knew that going in, and we just have to continue to stay focused on getting better and whatever that looks like in winning the day every training session.”
Izzo-Brown gave praise to the Big 12 conference but still was focused on the level the Mountaineers can bring to it.
“After experiencing them now, I can say, yeah, that these are NCAA teams and these are teams that can go deep into the tournament,” Izzo-Brown said. “There’s definitely parity in the league. I think as a whole, conference-wise, we feel really good with, you know, what we are putting in front on a national level.”
The positives
The upcoming match against TCU is WVU’s final match at home of the regular season. It will then finish the season by traveling to face Cincinnati.
While the standings put them in danger in terms of the Big 12 Tournament, both TCU and Cincinnati are under WVU in the standings. TCU has six points at 2-7 while Cincinnati has eight points at 2-5-2.
The schedule certainly gives WVU a favorable position to finish strong, but performance will be important for it to control its destiny. While ties could keep the team afloat, wins are what are going to make the difference.
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