MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Veteran West Virginia women’s soccer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown looks back fondly on much of what the Mountaineers have accomplished in 30 seasons as a program, all of which have come with her as head coach.
Should Izzo-Brown have her way, the 31st campaign will create more lasting accomplishments.
It starts Thursday when West Virginia welcomes Dayton for a 7 p.m. match at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, a contest that should provide the Mountaineers with a strong idea of where they stand in the early going if last year is any indication.
“Kicking off the 2026 season with such an exceptional opponent in Dayton, who obviously made a run [to] the NCAA Tournament last year, we know we have our hands full,” Izzo-Brown said.
The Flyers finished 15-4-3 a year ago and were perfect in the Atlantic 10 Conference, winning both the regular season and league tournament, before falling 2-0 to Xavier in the opening round of NCAA play.
The Mountaineers are also coming off a successful season. They finished 14-3-4, were unbeaten in 11 Big 12 regular season matches and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, before being eliminated by Georgetown on penalty kicks.
It marked the program’s 24th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, a stretch that included 21 consecutive from 2000 to the 2020-21 season.
“It’s incredible and it’s so important to celebrate every player, every staff member, everybody that’s had a hand in the success of the program,” Izzo-Brown said. “It never just takes one person. It takes an incredible, hard-working village and it’s so important to finally look back at the program.”
To make it 25 NCAA Tournament berths and three over the last three seasons, the Mountaineers will have to overcome the loss of several key players, most notably leading scorer Taylor White.
White led WVU with 10 goals and 10 assists a year ago.
Izzo-Brown revealed Wednesday the team will be without junior midfielder Maddie Levy for the 2026 season after she suffered a torn ACL in the spring.
Levy was second on the squad with six goals and seven assists last season.
“We kept it a secret for as long as we could, but it’s out and about now,” Izzo-Brown said.
Of the 42 goals WVU produced last season, Mountaineer players were responsible for 40, and 19 were scored by players that will suit up in 2026.
“[White] was our leading goal scorer, so that’s definitely going to be different. Losing her production is huge,” Izzo-Brown said. “We lose Ajanae Respass up top, so our forward line will be a little bit different. With that being said, you’re going to get back Jordyn Wilson, who was hurt last season. We feel that Jordyn will be a great person to step in with experience and help us there.”
In addition to having Wilson back in the lineup, Abbey Olexa and Anna Hauer return after scoring six and four goals, respectively, last year.
Hauer, who recorded five assists in 2025, was one of three WVU players named to the All-Big 12 Preseason Team, joining goalkeeper Bailey Herfurth and defender Nyema Ingleton.
Having Herfurth and Ingleton back figures to again make the Mountaineers tough to score on after a year in which they allowed less than one goal per match and 19 in all.
Herfurth, who made 18 starts and 20 appearances, had a 0.80 goals against average, 46 saves and nine solo clean sheets in addition to two more combined shutouts.
“The impact and confidence she brought for us, and her job as a goalkeeper to get those shutouts last year, and if anything win us the games was so important,” Izzo-Brown said of the LSU transfer. “Bailey is a huge anchor/coach for what we want to do this season. She’s all in and we’re real excited to see what kind of senior campaign she brings to the table.”
The match against Dayton marks one of six across West Virginia’s first eight that will be played in Morgantown, a stretch that ends September 18 with the first Big 12 battle against Baylor.
Six of the final 10 matches are on the road for a team slotted No. 20 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Top 25 and tied for third with Kansas in the Big 12 Preseason Poll.
“It’s really important, especially when you start thinking about the NCAA Tournament and how important winning at home is,” Izzo-Brown said. “We don’t take that for granted and we know that pressure is going to be a privilege and that pressure to win at home is going to be there. It’s very important to us to defend Dlesk and do everything we can to get those points and wins at home.”