NIKKIIzzo-Brown HEAD COACH 21ST SEASON
Date of Birth: May 4 Hometown: Rochester, New York Alma Mater: Rochester, 1993 Year at WVU: 21st Coaching Career: West Virginia Wesleyan, assistant coach, 1993; West Virginia Wesleyan, head coach, 1994; West Virginia University, 1996-present. Record at WVU: 286-101-44 Overall Record: 299-106-44 Playing Career: (defender) Rochester, 1989-92
Entering her 21st season as the only coach in Mountaineer women’s soccer history, Nikki Izzo-Brown has built a one-time infant program into one of the nation’s elite teams. In her previous 20 seasons, Izzo-Brown has coached 15 players who went on to play professionally, 20 All-Americans, 18 Academic All-Americans, 14 Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Hermann Trophy candidates and one finalist, 18 conference players of the year, two Olympians and FIFA Women’s World Cup participants and one FIFA Women’s World Cup Best Young Player honoree. The Mountaineers enter the program’s 21st season having made an appearance in each of the last 16 NCAA Tournaments, the country’s seventh-longest streak. To date, Izzo-Brown has led the Mountaineers to an impressive 286-101-44 overall record and a 119-41-20 conference mark that includes nine regular-season titles and five tournament championships. West Virginia has won at least one conference title in each of the last five seasons, including the 2015 Big 12 Conference regular-season crown, its fourth straight, bringing the team’s Big 12 trophy count to six in four seasons. Women’s soccer won the school’s first Big 12
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WOMEN’S SOCCER
championship in 2012 and was the only WVU program to win multiple Big East tournament titles. Izzo-Brown’s teams have been a consistent force in the national rankings and reached new levels in 2015, as the team spent 15 weeks ranked within the top 10 of the NSCAA Poll, peaking at a program-record No. 2, a position it held for two weeks. Additionally, WVU has defeated a top10 opponent in 11 straight seasons. In addition to the success she has enjoyed with the Mountaineers, Izzo-Brown has several years of experience with U.S. Women’s National Teams, including serving as an assistant at the teams’ 2012 training camps with the U.S. U-18, U-20 and U-23 squads. Izzo-Brown has never had a losing season as head coach and has led WVU to 16 straight 10-plus win seasons. Additionally, she has earned 11 combined conference and regional coach of the year awards since 2000.
2015 Season Izzo-Brown made sure the Mountaineers’ 20th season was a year to remember, as she led WVU back to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, the squad’s second appearance and first since 2007. The tournament appearance was the
team’s 16th straight, and the program’s No. 2 seed was its highest ever. In addition to their run through the NCAA Tournament, the Mountaineers also captured their fourth straight Big 12 Conference regular-season title with a 6-0-1 mark. WVU is the only program in Big 12 history to win four straight outright titles. The unbeaten Big 12 mark is the team’s third in four seasons. The Mountaineers finished the season at 19-3-1, and the 19 victories are a program record. WVU was ranked in the top 10 of the NSCAA Poll the last 15 weeks of the season and peaked at a program-record No. 2, a position the squad held for two weeks. The Mountaineers finished the year ranked No. 7, also a team record. Led by Izzo-Brown, the WVU defense posted a program-record 15 shutouts, the third-best mark in the NCAA, and allowed just 11 goals and 44 corner kicks all year. WVU ended the season ranked No. 5 nationally in goals-against average (0.471) and shutout percentage (0.652). The 11 goals allowed were the fewest in program history. The Mountaineer offense also was spectacular and set a program record with 61 goals. Named the Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year for
Two Decades of Champions: 2002 Big East Division | 2006 Big East Division | 2007 Big East Division and Tournament | 2008 Big East Division |