MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The nation’s fourth-longest streak of consecutive appearances in the NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament has ended. West Virginia was not selected to the 2021 tourney, ending a streak that began in the 2000 season.
The Mountaineers posted a 10-5-5 record this fall and concluded the year ranked No. 44 in the NCAA RPI. West Virginia defeated Baylor 1-0 in the Big 12 Quarterfinals on Oct. 31 but they were eliminated in the semifinals by Texas. After scoreless play in regulation and two overtimes, the Mountaineers were defeated 4-3 on penalty kicks.
Three teams ranked behind West Virginia in the RPI did receive NCAA at-large selections: St. John’s [46], LSU [47] and Alabama [49]. West Virginia finished the regular season with a 3-3-3 record in Big 12 play and they were the No. 6 seed in the league tournament.
During their 21-year run under head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown, the Mountaineers won 24 NCAA Tournament games, including seven Sweet 16 appearances. WVU played in the 2016 national championship match, falling to USC in the final and ending the season with a 23-2-2 record.