MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The final regular season home matches for both WVU soccer teams can keep hopes for conference championships alive on consecutive nights at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. The WVU women’s soccer team hosts Cincinnati Thursday night while the men’s team welcomes Marshall to town in the latest edition of the Mountain State Derby Friday.
The WVU ladies enter the final night of Big 12 play trailing TCU by one point atop the conference. The No. 5 Horned Frogs (14-2-1, 8-1-1 Big 12) lead the 16-team league with 25 points. The No. 19 Mountaineers (12-2-3, 7-0-3 Big 12) have 24 points.
“A lot is at stake. There’s a championship on the line. We’re keeping ourselves grounded and we know what is at stake heading into this last game. It is going to be really critical in our preparation as Cincinnati comes to town,” said WVU Senior Associate Head Coach Lisa Stoia.
“The goal is to always finish on top. But for us, we are going to do everything in our control to make sure that if we are not the ones that do come out on top, that we will hopefully secure the second spot. As you go into the postseason, hopefully that can maybe set you up for some success as well in the Big 12 Tournament.”
West Virginia can win their sixth Big 12 regular season title and first since 2016 if they defeat Cincinnati (5-7-6, 3-5-2 Big 12) and TCU loses or draws with Houston (7-3-7, 2-3-5). That match starts one hour after kickoff in Morgantown.
“The good news is that those teams are battling too. We are definitely going to be the biggest Houston fans on Thursday night. At the end of the day, we have to focus on what we can do because our kids know that no matter what, they have a chance potentially of winning a championship.”
The Mountaineers are entering a congested portion of their schedule. After Thursday’s match with Cincinnati, WVU will play in the Big 12 Quarterfinals Monday at TCU. Should they advance, the semifinal will be played on Wednesday, giving the Mountaineers three matches in a seven-day span.
“The biggest curve I think for college coaches is that they got rid of the [regular season] overtime. So now in the postseason, you could potentially be dealing with overtime on top of potentially one day of rest in between. Those things are definitely challenges. For us, it is kind of an uncontrollable. We can only focus on things we can control and do the best to make sure that we are managing our team appropriately for the postseason.”
In a new wrinkle to the Big 12 Conference Tournament this year, the quarterfinal and semifinal matches will be played at TCU. The championship match will be hosted by Baylor University on November 8.
“The good news is that it is driving distance. So that’s helpful. But it definitely adds a little more to those traveling in. That’s going to throw a little bit of a curve and an environment factor we have to consider in some ways.”
If the Mountaineers defeat the Bearcats on Thursday, their 13th victory will mark the most for the program since the 2018 season.
“This team has been grinding. We’ve had a tough travel schedule. We were on the road for four straight games at one point. That’s not easy to get results on the road. You’ve got other factors when you are traveling in our new conference. The teams that have been added to the conference have been extraordinary. We’ve really enjoyed the expansion and it has presented new challenges. We’ve lived and learned and I think the growth along the way has made us a stronger team because of that.”
Mountain State Derby set for Friday
The latest edition of the Mountain State Derby match between the WVU and Marshall men’s soccer teams will take the stage at DDSS on Friday night. Both teams are chasing Kentucky in the Sun Belt Conference standings with two match days remaining. The No. 18 Wildcats (9-2-3, 6-1 Sun Belt) own sole possession of the Sun Belt lead with 18 points. Marshall is second with 16 points and WVU has 15.
The No. 19 Mountaineers (10-3-2, 5-2 Sun Belt) have lost two of their last three matches sandwiched around a victory over Old Dominion.
“A mix of disappointment that we are not in a more advanced position within the conference,” said WVU head coach Dan Stratford. “There’s still a ton of belief that the performances have been good. Sadly for the second time in that three-game stretch, we’ve probably been on the end of a result that we don’t really feel is a reflection of the game or the quality of the performance.
“We have a little bit of work to do. The message is very much to make sure that we make Kentucky earn it with two games to go and make sure that if they are going to go on and win the conference, that they have to win out in order to do so and that we make it as hard as we possibly can while picking up two very important wins at the end of the regular season.”
No. 11 Marshall (8-1-5, 5-1-1 Sun Belt) has not conceded a goal in their last four matches.
“They have evolved a little bit. It has been interesting to watch them this season. More recently, there’s some subtle adjustments in their structure I have noticed in their last handful of games,” Stratford said.
“I think there’s some adjustments to their playing style where they are maybe a little bit more willing to play a little bit more direct or playing more vertically at times.”
Stratford and Marshall head coach Chris Grassie worked on the same staff previously at University of Charleston and the two are good friends.
“I only like Chris. I don’t particularly care for Marshall. It is quite easy to separate the two. They are a well-coached team. They are a good team. What he has achieved there and what he has done there has been nothing short of astounding. I am happy for him and I am happy that the nature of the game is at the level it is at.”
WVU and Marshall have faced off four times in the last two seasons. In 2023, the Mountaineers defeated the Thundering Herd, 5-2 in the regular season when Marshall was minted as the nation’s top-ranked team. MU avenged that defeat in the Sun Belt Tournament final, 3-2.
In 2024, the teams played to a pair of scoreless draws with the Mountaineers securing championship trophies from both results. The regular season draw in Huntington locked up the league championship. WVU bested the Herd, 6-5 on penalty kicks to win the Sun Belt Tournament final.
“The nature and the magnitude of the games we have been able to present to our players and to our fans has been something that is really, really special. And it takes two to tango. So I am grateful Marshall are good. It makes for an incredible memory,” Stratford said.
“It is not just your average game. There are very few college teams and very few student-athletes that get to play in a game like this. You think about a rivalry game, a sellout crowd, how many Division I men’s soccer programs in the country get that type of game at this type of level with the recent history the two programs have? Let’s embrace it and take full advantage of it.”