The University of Arizona soccer team (7-5, 2-2 in Big 12) suffered a 3-0 loss to West Virginia University Thursday, Oct. 2, in Morgantown, West Virginia. The Wildcats are now 2-2 in conference play, moving down to No. 9 in Big 12 standings.
Mountaineers this season
The programs’ first and only other game together was in 2024, resulting in a 1-1 tie at Murphey Field at Mulcahy Soccer Stadium, giving Arizona home-field advantage. Nikki Izzo-Brown leads WVU in her 30th season as head coach. Over her time with the program, she’s sent 43 players to the professional level and 25 players to 60 total All-American honors. Izzo-Brown prides herself in the academic and athletic success on her team with 17 different players to 30 total Academic and Scholar All-America accolades.
Taylor White, senior forward, dominates WVU’s roster with 6 goals and seven assists, earning her 19 points. Prior to Thursday’s matchup, she’s put off 22 shots with 12 of them finding the frame and has started all 11 games this season. Notably, she has scored 2 game-winning goals for the Mountaineers. She has been with the program for all of her four seasons and earned impressive marks such as Big 12 Offensive player of the week in her junior season in October of 2024.
Sophomore midfielder Maddie Levy is another offensive asset for the Mountaineers. With 4 goals and three assists, she falls second on the team’s stat line behind White, starting eight of 10 games this season. In those games, she earned 21 shots with 9 on goal. In her freshman season with WVU, Levy recorded 122 minutes for the season. Just 11 games into this season, Levy has tallied 483 minutes, a significant increase and effectively adding to the Mountaineers in her sophomore season.
Wildcats this season
In their struggle against California teams on the road, Becca Moros knows what to expect from tough competition without home-field advantage. She led her team to two back-to-back Big 12 wins against University of Central Florida and Oklahoma State University, two tough competitors in the conference.
Marissa Arnst continues to be a solid player for the Wildcats on the outside. Her box-to-box play has opened up opportunities across the field. With 13 shots on goal, Arnst earned her first goal of her collegiate career against OSU in one of the Wildcats’ most recent matchup. She’s started every game but one, a key player for Arizona across the board.
Goalkeeper Olivia Ramey has been solid in the net for the Wildcats this season. She’s earned four shutouts out of 11 games played and one in their exhibition matchup against NAU. Ramey had a season high of seven saves against GCU earlier this season on Sept. 14. As a vocal component at the end of the field, Ramey’s leadership never goes unnoticed.
Game recap: First half
The Mountaineers came out strong with a close shot in the top right corner, earning Ramey her first save of the game. This was just the start for WVU.
The Mountaineers were able to maintain possession for the majority of the half, creating dangerous opportunities in the final third. Arizona struggled to find chances on their end, often resulting in turned over possessions.
Levy, White and Ava Arnold were the top contributors for the Mountaineers up top, getting off seven shots in the first 20 minutes of play. Within the 20th minute of play, White assisted Levy with the first goal of the match, putting WVU in a 1-0 lead just a quarter into the game.
Sami Baytosh attempted to fire back for Arizona with a shot saved in the bottom right corner. The Wildcats wanted to connect and find opportunities but ultimately fell short.
Narissa Fults gave the Wildcats another look at the goal with a shot in the top right corner of the net, saved by WVU goalkeeper Bailey Herfurth. WVU overall only got two more shots off following its goal, the result of play slowing down all across the field.
Second half
Levy kickstarted the second half with another dangerous look on goal for the Mountaineers but it was sent over the crossbar. In response, Jessica Bedolla hit one to the right of WVU’s goal, a scare to its defensive line.
Arizona earned two back-to-back corner kicks but were not able to capitalize on the chances at goal. This was a positive shift nonetheless for the Wildcats as WVU saw several corners in the first half of the game.
Despite the shift for Arizona, the Mountaineers found their second and third goal of the game within 8 minutes. White scored both goals, earning a brace for the match and advancing her team into a comfortable 3-0 lead.
Following these goals, play bounced back and forth and neither team saw dangerous chances moving forward. Arizona used multiple substitutions to try and find chemistry on the field to put the ball in the net but weren’t successful.
WVU earned 16 shots compared to Arizona’s four for the match, however, corners were six and four.
As the game progressed and came to an end, the Wildcats walked away with their second conference loss of the season.
Looking ahead
Arizona soccer will face the University of Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 5, at 9 a.m. in Ohio. Cincinnati is currently ranked at last place, No. 16. The Wildcats will aim to bring home a road win.
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