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The Mountaineers return 88 percent of their goal scoring from a year ago Challenging Competition The 2013 West Virginia women’s soccer schedule is a grueling one, facing seven teams that appeared in the 2012 NCAA tournament – Baylor, Central Michigan, Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Penn State and Texas Tech. “The 2013 schedule is challenging, but one that we are excited about,” says coach Nikki Izzo-Brown, the 2012 Big 12 Coach of the Year. “Our non-conference opponents are highlighted by last year’s national finalists in North Carolina and Penn State. And our conference schedule includes four home games and four road trips to Big 12 schools.” First Time Foes West Virginia will square off against four new opponents this fall: Duke, North Carolina, Eastern Kentucky and Wright State. In the program’s 17-year existence (heading into 2013), the Mountaineers have faced 93 different teams. For the second-straight year, WVU will face the defending national champion. The Mountaineers will face North Carolina on Sept. 8 in the Duke Nike Classic. Last fall, forward Frances Silva scored in the 83rd minute to propel West Virginia past No. 1-ranked Stanford, 1-0, on Aug. 26 at the Penn State Invitational. The win, the Mountaineers’ first over the nation’s top-ranked team, snapped Stanford’s 64-match regular-season unbeaten streak.
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Big 12 Soccer West Virginia enters its second season as members of the Big 12 Conference. WVU women’s soccer will add to the competiveness of the league, bringing 13 consecutive NCAA appearances on its resume – more than any other league team. The Big 12 has advanced at least two teams to the second round of the NCAA Championship and at least one squad to the third round in 15 of the league’s 17 seasons. The Conference finished 62-28-11 against non-conference opponents last season. Big 12 Championship After being held in San Antonio for 16-straight years, the Big 12 Championship has a new home in Kansas City, Mo., in 2013, and that tourney will be Nov. 6-10. The 2013 Big 12 Soccer Championship will take place at Swope Park. No matches will be played on campus sites. A year ago, the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds were streamed by the Big 12 Digital Network on Big12Sports.com, and the championship finals were broadcast on FSN. The top eight teams based on conference results determined by a point system qualify for the Big 12 Championship. A squad gets three points for each conference win and one point for each conference tie.
22013 West Virginia Women’s Soccer
All-Conference Returnees Nikki Izzo-Brown led her team to the regular-season championship to be named Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2012. The conference coach of the year award is the third of Izzo-Brown’s career, having won back-to-back accolades in 2001 and 2002 with the Big East. Last fall, West Virginia garnered the most total selections with seven. Five All-Big 12 Mountaineers return in 2013, led by forward Kate Schwindel who was a first-team selection. Forward Frances Silva was named to the second team and three players landed on the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team: defender Leah Emaus, midfielder Kara Blosser and forward Kelsie Maloney. WVU also boasts All-Big East performers in goalkeeper Sara Keane and Caroline Szwed. Offensive Outlook The 2013 Mountaineers return 88 percent of its goal scoring from a year ago as underclassmen accounted for 30 of the team’s 34 goals. Twenty of the team’s 34 goals came from the duo of Frances Silva (11) and Kate Schwindel (9). Twenty-two of the team’s 28 assists return – 78 percent of its assist total from 2012. Schwindel leads all returnees with eight helpers. Nine different Mountaineers on the current roster have scored at least one point in their WVU careers.