After defeating No. 5 Oklahoma State 2-1 on Sunday, No. 4 West Virginia will face No. 1 Texas in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday.
The Mountaineers are coming into the match on a four-game win streak, and have not lost since they faced Texas in the regular season, falling 2-1 on Oct. 13 in Morgantown. Against Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals, the Mountaineers Not only will West Virginia be looking for revenge for the previous defeat, but they are still on the bubble of the NCAA tournament, looking for their marquee win to secure their place.
Meanwhile, the Longhorns steam-rolled through conference play, not losing a match, and are coming in on a three game win streak themselves. They were the Big 12 regular season champions as well. Texas defeated Kansas State 4-0 in the first round of the Big 12 tournament.
Texas is led by sophomore forward Trinity Byars, who was named Big 12 Offensive player of the year, leading the Big 12 with 16 goals, to go along with nine assists. The Longhorns overall led the conference in goals with 51, 11 more than the next closest team.
West Virginia will look to their leading scorer, senior midfielder AJ Rodriguez, who scored three goals in the Mountaineers last five matches. They will also look to contain the Longhorns offense, with Big 12 Co-Goalkeeper of the year Kayza Massey and All-Big 12 first team defender Jordan Brewster.
Photo by Liz Parks/Big 12 Conference
