No. 3-Seed WVU Set to Begin Play at 2024 Sprouts Farmers Market Big 12 Championship

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The No. 3-seed West Virginia University women’s soccer team (12-4-2, 8-2-1 Big 12) begins its hunt for a Big 12 Tournament title in a quarterfinals match against No. 6-seed Kansas on Saturday, Nov. 2. Kickoff is tabbed for approximately 6:15 pm ET at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.

Saturday’s match will be streamed live on ESPN+, with Chuckie Kempf and Sarah Gonzalez on the call. Live stats are also available at Big12.StatBroadcast.com.

Of note, the Big 12 Championship returns to Kansas City for the first time since 2019 after three seasons in Round Rock, Texas. The championship will be held at CPKC Stadium, the home of the NWSL’s Kansas City Current, for the first time in conference history.

The Mountaineers hold a 17-4-3 mark all-time in Big 12 Championship play, as they enter this year’s tournament in search of their sixth Big 12 Tournament title. Last season, No. 5-seed West Virginia fell 3-1 to No. 4-seed Texas in the quarterfinals on Oct. 30.

All-time, West Virginia has claimed 18 conference championships, including five Big 12 Tournament titles. Most recently, WVU won the 2022 Big 12 Championship in Round Rock, Texas.

Saturday’s contest marks the 16th all-time meeting between West Virginia and Kansas, as well as the second this season. WVU holds a 10-3-2 lead in the series, while the series is tied 1-1 in neutral site matchups. In the two teams’ first meeting this season, the Mountaineers secured a 3-2 win over the Jayhawks on Sept. 22. Ajanae Respass, AJ Rodriguez and Abbey Olexa scored in the victory.

The Mountaineers and Jayhawks have met in the regular season each year since WVU joined the conference in 2012, as well as a pair of meetings in the Big 12 Tournament. Saturday’s Big 12 Quarterfinals matchup marks WVU and KU’s first meeting in the Big 12 Championship since 2019 – a 2-0 KU win in the quarterfinals.

West Virginia capped the regular season and earned a 4-1 victory over Houston at the Carl Lewis International Complex in Houston, Texas, on Oct. 25. The Mountaineers got on the board with a tally from Respass in the first half before adding three goals in the second – two from Taylor White and one from Olexa. White scored her two goals within 33 seconds of one another. Olivia Shertzer, Annika Leslie, Lilly McCarthy and Respass were credited with assists in the win.

Nate Lie is in his first season as the head coach of the Jayhawks, after being hired as the program’s fourth head coach in December 2023. Kansas enters Saturday’s matchup with a 10-5-4 record this season, including a 6-4-1 mark in Big 12 play. The squad is coming off a 2-1 win over Arizona State in the First Round of the Big 12 Championship on Oct. 30. Jillian Gregorski and Lexi Watts are tied for the team lead with eight goals, while Watts leads the squad with 19 points . In goal, Sophie Dawe has notched 35 saves and a 0.673 save percentage.

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