MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Armed with one of the nation’s top recruiting classes, a No. 11 national ranking and one of the country’s most difficult early schedules, Nikki Izzo-Brown is about to enter a season of unknowns.
What the veteran coach would like is more time.
“From my perspective, I’m never ready,” Izzo-Brown said. “Coaches always want more opportunities to coach up young teams.”
She won’t get it, as the Mountaineers open their season at 7 p.m. today against Duquesne, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
It was just three years ago when Izzo-Brown had the Mountaineers playing for the national championship. One of the few remaining links to that run is senior goalkeeper Rylee Foster, a preseason candidate for the MAC Hermann Trophy.
Expectations have always been high for Foster, a three-year member of the Canadian under-20 women’s national team but maybe never more so than this season.
“This whole spring, we just told Rylee to just worry about Rylee,” Izzo-Brown said. “We want her to be the best version of herself. It’s absolutely vital that she’s that player, but at the end of the day, I just need her to be a goalkeeper.”
In front of Foster will be inexperienced potential.
The Mountaineers lost 58 % of its goal scoring from last season with the graduations of Sh’Nia Gordon, Bianca St. Georges and Hannah Abraham.
In their place is the country’s No. 7-ranked recruiting class, according to TopDrawerSoccer.com, led by freshmen Gabby Robinson, Julianne Vallerand, Nicole Payne, Enzi Broussard and Juliana Lynch.
“It’s been wild for us coaches, but I also love the challenges they present to me as a coach,” Izzo-Brown said. “They’re going to show what kind of coach I really am. I have to be at my best.”
Following today’s match against the Dukes — they finished 6-9-2 last season — the Mountaineers will find out quickly where they stand and how far they have to go.
The Mountaineers will travel to University Park, Pa., on Sunday to face No. 3 Stanford, a national semifinalist last season.
In three of its next five matches after facing Stanford, WVU will also face No. 6 Penn State, No. 7 Georgetown and No. 9 Virginia.
“I think when you challenge yourself, those quality opponents are going to expose areas that we have to get better at,” Izzo-Brown said. “If we don’t see the best in Stanford, Georgetown, Penn State and Virginia, we’re never going to know what our potential is or what our limits are.”
Few will feel sorry for the Mountaineers, who have advanced to the NCAA tournament for 19 consecutive seasons.
WVU was already selected as the preseason favorite to win the Big 12 by a vote of the league’s coaches.
“It’s a huge compliment that people believe that we have the talent to win,” Izzo-Brown said. “From my standpoint, it’s also a huge privilege for us to finish it out.”
