West Virginia welcomes No. 8 Penn State as they look to continue positive momentum

West Virginia women’s soccer (1-1) hosts No. 8 Penn State (1-0-1) this evening at 5 p.m. at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. 

Following an 8-0 thrashing of Saint Francis on Sunday, West Virginia turns their attention to No. 8 Penn State on Thursday evening at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown. 

“It’s an important game for us because we’ve had this tradition of always playing each other and it’s always a great game no matter who wins so I think for both of us it it brings out the best in us or the worst and and that’s what we want to see going into conference play,” head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. 

The Mountaineers are fresh off of a program record-setting 9-0 victory against Saint Francis. The match saw nine different Mountaineers scoring their first goals of the season. The nine-goal mark set the mark for the most in program history. 

This marks the first meeting between the non-conference rivals since last season in their NCAA Tournament matchup where Penn State beat the Mountaineers 4-0. 

Penn State will be on the road for the first time this season, following an impressive 8-0 victory over West Chester. Redshirt sophomore Julia Raich led the Nittany Lions with a dominant two-goal, one-assist performance. In their first match of the year, they tied with No. 2 North Carolina.  

The Mountaineers are hosting a celebration night for their Big 12 Championship title, alongside a gold rush theme. The match is the first of a soccer doubleheader that will be capped off with the Men’s team hosting California Baptist at 8 p.m. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ and 91.7 FM WWVU.