KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An advantageous bounce, brute senior strength and a stout defensive effort put the No. 14 West Virginia women’s soccer team back in familiar territory as the Mountaineers won the 2018 Big 12 Championship with a 3-0 win over No. 9 Baylor at Swope Soccer Village.
Riding a 1-0 second-half lead following an own goal in the 36th minute, the Mountaineers found their insurance goal off the foot of senior defender Amanda Saymon. Senior forward Sh’Nia Gordon worked the ball upfield before crossing high to freshman defender Jordan Brewster. Her shot was stopped at the line by Baylor goalkeeper Jennifer Wandt. Standing in the right position, Saymon pounced on the rebound and buried her shot to the far-left post for her first career goal.
Just eight minutes later, sophomore forward Lauren Segalla iced the game with a goal in the 85th minute.
WVU outscored opponents 7-0 in the Big 12 tournament.
“Today was all about effort,” WVU head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “This team had unfinished business, and we knew we would face teams from the nation’s best RPI conference. We’ve been talking all year about senior leadership, and they were just incredible.
“That Baylor team is lethal, and they’re going to do great things in the NCAA tournament. To hold them to zero goals speaks volumes of our defensive mindset, our backline and [goalkeeper] Rylee Foster.”
The victory avenges the Mountaineers’ earlier defeat to the Bears (16-5, 8-1), a 1-0 overtime loss on Oct. 5 at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. Baylor also won the last two conference titles.
With the win, the Mountaineers (14-4-3, 7-2) secure the Big 12’s automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
“We’re going to enjoy today,” Izzo-Brown said. “There’s always lessons learned, and the kids earned this today. But, we’ll break-down tape and get ready for the NCAA Tournament.”
WVU had almost every advantage on the stat sheet against Baylor. The Mountaineers outshot the Bears 19-7, had five shots on goal to Baylor’s one and had a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks. Wandt recorded two saves in the game and Foster had one for WVU.
The NCAA selection committee will announce West Virginia’s tournament path at 4:30 p.m. today.
