10:06am: Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval

Izzo-Brown: Big-name foes haven’t ‘made this team flinch’

West Virginia sophomore Easther Mayi Kith boards the plane for San Jose, Calif, where the Mountaineers face North Carolina in Friday’s final four College Cup.

 

While West Virginia has claimed the No. 1 ranking for two months and the nation’s top RPI nearly as long, North Carolina owns the grandest tradition in NCAA women’s soccer.

The Tar Heels (17-3-4) own 21 national championships out of 35 NCAA tournaments and will be seeking another Friday when they face the Mountaineers (21-1-2) at the College Cup final four in San Jose, Calif.

“There’s only one team that does it per year out of 365,” said West Virginia coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “Until we’re No. 1 at the end of the year, I won’t even reflect on the numbers.”

Unbeaten in 16 consecutive matches, the Mountaineers earned their College Cup debut by surviving a series of tight home matches against Ohio State, Duke and UCLA, the last on penalty kicks. Thus, Izzo-Brown isn’t concerned about the intimidation factor of facing the Tar Heels.

“We’ve played some big names this year,” she said. “So I don’t think that we’re necessarily afraid of the name. The name hasn’t made this team flinch at all.

“And to be honest, most of the Canadians don’t really understand the difference is. They just want to win.”

WVU features seven players from Canada, including three-time All-American defender Kadehisha Buchanan, top assist-maker Ashley Lawrence and freshman keeper Rylee Foster, the national leader with a 0.27 goals-against average.

North Carolina replaced eight departed starters this season and hardly resembled a national championship contender while starting 5-2-1.

“I don’t want to pretend for a second we’ve transformed ourselves into an incredibly talented team, but it’s a very good team,” coach Anson Dorrance said.

Championship shift

The NCAA moved this year’s College Cup from Cary, N.C., to California in protest of HB2, the “bathroom bill” from the North Carolina legislature, which also fueled the relocation of ACC championships and the 2017 NBA All-Star game.

Despite nixing the driving plans of some West Virginia fans, Izzo-Brown called the move a blessing once UNC emerged as the semifinal opponent.

“As much as I would’ve loved people to get down there and support us, I think North Carolina would’ve had a huge advantage,” Izzo-Brown said. “So even though we would’ve wanted it in North Carolina, I don’t know that we would’ve wanted it in North Carolina.”

WVU final top seed

Aside from the Mountaineers, No. 1 seeds didn’t fare well in the NCAA bracket.

Stanford lost in the second round. Florida stumbled in the Sweet 16. South Carolina fell in the Elite Eight to second-seeded UNC.

Friday’s other College Cup national semifinal features Georgetown facing USC, both No. 2 seeds from their regions. Georgetown was the only team to beat WVU this season, winning 1-0 on Sept. 18.

No love for UNC out West

Because NCAA-sanctioned practice fields weren’t available until Thursday, the Tar Heels sought a venue for Wednesday’s workout. It wasn’t an easy find.

“We asked Stanford and they said no,” Dorrance told the Charlotte Observer. “I was hoping they’d say no. I wanted that for incentive next time we play them.”

Coaching bonus

In addition to her base salary of $185,000 this year, Izzo-Brown has earned bonuses of at least $68,500. The breakdown:
— $7,000 for Big 12 regular-season title
— $7,000 for Big 12 tournament title
— $5,000 for winning big 12 coach of the year
— $2,500 for top-25 finish in the NSCAA poll
— $7,000 for reaching NCAA first round
— $5,000 for reaching NCAA second round
— $7,500 for reaching NCAA third round
— $7,500 for reaching NCAA fourth round
— $20,000 for reaching College Cup semifinals

Other incentives remaining:
— $10,000 for reaching national final
— $25,000 for winning national title
— $10,000 for winning national coach of the year
— $3,000 or $5,000 based on team GPA and APR rating

Izzo-Brown received a $35,000 retention bonus on July 1 and is scheduled to earn the same next summer.

Gametime reset

Who: No. 1 WVU (21-1-2) vs. No. 6 North Carolina (17-3-4)
What: College Cup final four semifinals
Where: Avaya Stadium, San Jose, Calif
When: Friday, 5 p.m. Eastern
TV: ESPNU





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