Canadian-led roster has West Virginia Mountaineers in NCAA women’s College Cup
Nikki Izzo-Brown is the only women’s soccer coach West Virginia has ever hired. After 21 seasons, she’s guiding the Mountaineers to the women’s College Cup for the first time.
Led by a group of Canadians, including a pair of Olympians and a freshman goalkeeper with a penchant for shutouts, West Virginia (22-1-2) takes a 16-game unbeaten streak into Friday’s semifinals against North Carolina (17-3-4) in San Jose, California. Southern Cal (17-4-2) meets Georgetown (20-2-3) in the other semifinal.
Izzo-Brown was hired for West Virginia’s varsity debut in 1996 and has taken the Mountaineers to the NCAA tournament in 17 straight seasons. The school’s best previous showing was making it twice to the quarter-finals, including last season.
West Virginia was ranked No. 1 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America over the final five weeks of the regular season.