Following their 3-0 win at Dick Dlesk on Sunday, the Mountaineers (2-1-1) will head on the road for their next two games, facing No. 16 Auburn (2-2-1) Thursday, and Samford (3-0-1) on Sunday.
West Virginia started the season with a scoreless draw against Indiana, then secured a 5-1 victory for their first win of the season against Saint Joseph’s which saw five different Mountaineers score. WVU then headed on the road for the first time this season, where they visited No. 14 Penn State looking for their first big victory of the season. Unfortunately it was a continuation of last season, where they were unable to generate any goals for the second time in their first three matches, losing 2-0.
They headed back home for their next match against Saint Francis, and won convincingly 3-0, while holding a 29-1 shot advantage. The Mountaineers had countless opportunities to add on to their lead, but in a worrying trend, were unable to convert many shots in front of goal.
The Mountaineers have had eight different players score for them this season, but none have scored multiple goals. They will look for someone to step up as the go to goal scorer for them this road trip.
West Virginia will look to go into Auburn on Thursday and get their first ranked win of the season after losing in their first opportunity. Auburn lost their first match of the season 2-0 at No. 21 Memphis, defeated Old Dominion and Southern Miss at home, then drew No. 2 Florida State and Wake Forest. Auburn’s Anna Haddock is a Hermann trophy watch list player. Haddock currently leads Auburn with two goals.
Head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown knows how tough of a matchup Auburn will be.
“They’re scoring every game and they have a Hermann trophy watch player in Anna Haddock, she is a junior that does a great job around the net, they have great goalkeeping, so we just really have to be sharper in every area,” Izzo-Brown said.
West Virginia will stay in Alabama to play Samford on Sunday. Samford opened up their season with three consecutive victories, against Jacksonville State, Rice and Murray State. On Sunday, they hosted No. 12 Ole Miss and walked away with a 0-0 draw.
Photo by: Wesley Shoemaker
