West Virginia Men’s and Women’s Soccer Teams Start in the Top 25

Both the men’s and women’s soccer team at West Virginia will start their 2019 seasons in the national top 25.

The women’s soccer team starts at #11 in the nation. The Mountaineers are the highest ranked team in the Big 12 and are looking to defend their conference title this season. There are three other Big 12 teams ranked in the top 25. WVU also has four opponents on the schedule that are currently ranked in the top ten, including #3 Stanford, #6 Penn State, #7 Georgetown, and #9 Virginia.

The men’s soccer team will start the season ranked #23. There is only one Mid-American Conference team ranked ahead of the Mountaineers and it is #3 Akron. The Zips played in the national championship last season and WVU will play them in the final game of the regular season in Morgantown. The Mountaineers also have #6 North Carolina and #21 Charlotte on the regular season schedule. #16 Virginia Tech will also play WVU in an exhibition.

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Bob Huggins and the Mountaineers started their trip to Spain with a win. West Virginia defeated the Madrid All-Stars 97-69. Emmitt Matthews led WVU in scoring, with 17 points, but Logan Routt was the surprising standout with 16 points and eight rebounds. Four other Mountaineers also ended up with double digits in points. The Mountaineers also showed signs that Press Virginia may be returning, as they forced 20 turnovers, including 16 steals using half court traps.

Camp continues for the West Virginia football team, but there is still uncertainty about who will be the starting quarterback for the Mountaineers. Bowling Green transfer Jarret Doege has been the most confident candidate, likely because of his starting experience, but he is still waiting for a waiver to play immediately after transferring and the team cannot rely on the possibility of him receiving that waiver. Oklahoma transfer Austin Kendall may be the most likely starter at this point, but the WVU coaches have noted that his focus needs to improve. Jack Allison and Trey Lowe are also still in the mix to potentially start at quarterback when the season begins.

The West Virginia women’s soccer team had two Mountaineers selected on the 2019 Preseason All-Big 12 Team. Senior goalkeeper Rylee Foster and sophomore defender Jordan Brewster were the two selected. Foster received All-Big 12 First Team honors last season. Brewster was named to both the All-Big 12 Second Team and Big 12 All-Freshman Team in 2018.

Ginny Thrasher is still competing for one more award, despite her graduation in the spring. The former Mountaineer rifle star and Olympic gold medalist is still a candidate for the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. The award winner will be announced on October 20.

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