MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Aug. 10, 2023) – The West Virginia University women’s soccer team was selected to finish fourth in the 2023 Big 12 Soccer Preseason Poll, as announced by the conference on Thursday.
The defending Big 12 Tournament champions tallied 132 points for the fourth-place slot. Conference newcomer BYU was selected first with six first-place votes and 156 points, while defending regular-season champion TCU was just shy of the Cougars with three first-place votes and 155 points. Texas was picked ahead of WVU with 152 points and five first-place vote, and Texas Tech (117) came in behind WVU to round out the top five.
The conference poll was based on the votes of the league’s 14 head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own teams.
The Mountaineers are coming off their 27th season of competition in 2022 with an overall record of 11-5-7, including a 4-1-4 mark in Big 12 Conference play in 2023. West Virginia secured its 18th conference title after winning the 2022 Big 12 Tournament, marking its 10th Big 12 title all time. WVU earned the Big 12’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Second Round in its 22nd tournament appearance. Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown led the squad to its 23rd consecutive season with 10 wins or more, as she has never had a losing season as the program’s only head coach.
WVU opens its 28th season of competition on the road, as it faces No. 4 Duke on Thursday, August 17. Kickoff inside Koskinen Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, is set for 7 p.m. ET.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUWomensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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