With their season opener starting tomorrow evening, here’s everything you should remember about the Mountaineers heading into the 2024 season.
With head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown entering her 29th season with the Mountaineers, the team is looking to exceed their 7-8-4 record in 2023, including a 5-3-2 Big 12 conference record. Their season came to an end in the first round of the Big 12 Championship, where West Virginia fell to Texas 3-1.
West Virginia lost many notable players in the past off-season, including starting goalkeeper Kayza Massey who signed with Stade de Reims in France to begin her professional career. Other notable departures include midfielders Maya McCutcheon and Maddie Moreau, and forward Julianne Vallerand. Both Vallerand and forward Jaydah Bedoya signed professional contracts with the United Soccer League Super League. After playing on the 2023 roster, they’ll be inaugural players in the new league.
Izzo-Brown added twelve players to her roster over the offseason. On national signing day, five forwards signed to the team, those being Emily Akpebu, Taylor Allen, Alexis Ré, Alicia Riggins and Maddie Levy. They also acquired multiple transfers, including forwards Ajanae Respass and Sydney Ritter, defenders Roxanne Vilain and Gianna Koss, midfielder Hannah Stuck and goalkeepers Bailey Herfurth and Campbell Wolff.
West Virginia ranked 7th out of 16 teams in the Big 12 Preseason Poll. They will face off against multiple teams ranked in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, including No.4 Penn State, No. 5 Clemson and No. 8 Texas Tech. The team will travel to Clemson and Penn State in back to back weeks to end the month of August.
The Mountaineers will begin their season on August 15th, hosting Delaware at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
