MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After No. 7 West Virginia scored three second-half goals to overwhelm Iowa State 4-0 on Friday night in women’s soccer action, coach Nikki Izzo-Brown’s team capped the night with more good news.
No. 9 Texas, the only previously unbeaten team in the Big 12, suffered a 2-1 upset loss at Kansas, lifting West Virginia into a first-place tie with Oklahoma State in the conference. If the Mountaineers (12-3, 5-1) win their next three regular-season matches, they’ll claim their six straight Big 12 title.
MORE: Big 12 soccer standings
West Virginia, which lost at Texas 1-0 on Sept. 24, continues to be dominant in Morgantown, extending their streak of home wins against Big 12 opponents to a league-record 23.
Senior midfielder Alli Magaletta headed home the go-ahead goal only 6:15 into Friday’s match.
“That was huge – what a momentum boost for our team early in the match,” Izzo-Brown said. “Tonight was about two teams fighting for their lives in the Big 12 Conference, and Alli Magaletta, a big-time senior, stepped up and finished for us.”
Magaletta’s second goal of the season came off a corner kick from Bianca St. Georges.
The Mountaineers finished with a 25-6 edge in shots and denied the Cyclones (2-11-2, 0-5-1) a shot on-goal.
In the second half, Michaela Abam tallied her team-best fifth score of the season in the 49th minute.
Heather Kaleiohi pushed the lead to 3-0 in the 65th minute off the team’s eighth corner kick — this time from midfielder Carla Portillo.
Freshman forward Lauren Segalla punctuated the onslaught in the 72nd minute with her own header, connecting on Amandine Pierre-Louis’ corner kick.
“Iowa State did a great job denying us anything in front of them, and we had to create opportunities in the attack,” Izzo-Brown said. “I thought the team did a great job finding space and creating corners when we didn’t have a whole lot of space behind them.”