KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A goal in the 64th minute was all the No. 14-ranked West Virginia women’s soccer team needed, as the Mountaineers defeated No. 18-ranked and third-seeded Texas, 1-0, tonight in the Big 12 Soccer Championship semifinal at Swope Soccer Village.
For the second consecutive match, senior forward Sh’Nia Gordon connected with senior midfielder Nadya Gill for the game-winning goal, burying her chance near the penalty line in the 64th minute for her team-best seventh goal of the season and fourth game-winner.
“We have to recover because Baylor is such a tough team,” WVU head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “We know how tough they’re going to be. We’re playing for something big, and both teams are going to want it. We need to recover and get ready.”
The Mountaineers (13-4-3, 7-2) finished with a 28-9 edge in shots and forced UT’s Nicole Curry into seven saves. Junior Rylee Foster made three stops, and WVU finished with four against the Longhorns (13-4-3, 5-3-1).
“This team refused to lose tonight,” Izzo-Brown said. “Everyone had their hearts on their sleeves and had that iron will. I was so proud of them.”
The Mountaineers will meet top-seeded and No. 9 Baylor in the Big 12 Championship final at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. The championship final’s trip is the Mountaineers’ fourth in program history and first since winning the title in 2016. WVU has won three Big 12 Championship crowns since joining the conference in 2012.
