The No. 22-ranked WVU women’s soccer team continues to drive forward with its season opener as the No. 23 Penn State Nittany Lions roll into Morgantown on Thursday, Aug. 20.
WVU is looking to build on its 2-0 season-opening win over Dayton. Both Mountaineer goals came in the second half, with their defense limiting the Flyers to one shot on goal.
This matchup marks the 26th meeting between these two programs, with Penn State holding the advantage over WVU 15-7-3. The Lions won last season’s match, 3-1, with forward Taylor White scoring the lone Mountaineer goal in the 65th minute.
The Mountaineers enter the matchup with a great deal of returning experience in their players. Eight starters from last season return to the pitch, including second-year midfielder Ava Arnold, fourth-year forward Olivia Shertzer, fourth-year midfielder Anna Hauer and fourth-year center back Nyema Ingleton.
Leading the Mountaineers after scoring the game-winning goal against Dayton is third-year forward Sophia Nickel. Fifth-year goalkeeper Bailey Herfurth made one save to help WVU earn its first clean sheet of the season, while fourth-year midfielder Maya Leoni recorded an assist in the opener.
Penn State enters Morgantown hoping to top the Mountaineers once again with a 0-0-1 record after drawing No. 2 Notre Dame 2-2. Leading the Lions is forward Aubrey Kulpa with a goal and an assist in the opening match.
WVU Student Media will bring full coverage of this match, with Nico Caretto on play-by-play and Conor Bratchford as color analyst on U82 the Caribou (u82thecaribou.com) for the highly anticipated top-25 matchup.