Friday, September 18
Morgantown, W.Va.
6 p.m.
Baylor
at
West Virginia
No. 12 SOC Travels to No. 9 West Virginia in Battle of Big 12’s Top Two
9/17/2026 3:16:00 PM | Soccer
Bears kick off conference schedule with top-12 matchup in Morgantown
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – No. 12 Baylor soccer is kicking off the Big 12 schedule on Friday night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium against No. 9 West Virginia at 6 p.m. CT live on ESPN+. The match features the two top-ranked teams in the Big 12 on the second day of league play in the 2026 season.
Baylor ended its non-conference campaign with a 7-1 record, the most wins ahead of the league slate in the Michelle Lenard era and the most for the program since the 2018 squad matched the win count, to be ranked 12th in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Bears' only loss came against Texas State, which just dropped to No. 18 after suffering its first loss of the season.
BU picked up one top-10 win already this year in the season opener, a 4-1 rout of No. 10 Arkansas in Fayetteville, the first such win for the program since a 2-1 victory over No. 8 TCU in Fort Worth in 2021. Lenard is 1-1 against top-10 teams, and the program is 3-6-3 against top-10 teams over the last 10 seasons.
Friday's match will be the 15th between the two programs, with WVU holding a 10-2-2 series advantage after the teams last met in 2024, when the Mountaineers extended their winning streak over BU to three matches with a 2-0 victory at Betty Lou Mays Field. The Bears' last win against WVU came in 2019, a 4-2 decision in Waco.
WVU enters the match at 5-0-1, fresh off its first draw of the season, a 1-1 result over UConn at home last Sunday. The Mountaineers have stacked wins over Dayton, then-No. 23 Penn State, Duquesne, Princeton, Army and Marshall while outscoring their opponents 10-3 and never allowing more than one goal in a match.
Sophia Nickel leads West Virginia with three goals off the bench in all six matches, on just six shots on goal. Anna Hauer and Maya Leoni have two assists each after both started in all six matches. In goal, Bailey Herfurth logged all 540 minutes between the posts with a 0.5 goals-against average and three clean sheets.
For the Bears, freshman Grace White took the team lead with her fourth goal of the season at Oral Roberts last Sunday night, while Aryanna Jimison added her third goal, tied with Lauren Omholt. Theresa McCullough has four of BU's 21 total assists on the season, the fourth most in the Big 12.
Azul Alvarez, the Big 12's Goalkeeper of the Week, paced the league with six saves last week to up her total to 22 after 720 minutes in goal, allowing a 1.0 GAA for all seven wins with a pair of clean sheets.
The season continues Thursday, Sept. 24, as Baylor comes back to Betty Lou Mays Field to host Oklahoma State. First touch is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+ with free admission on the Banks of the Brazos.
To stay up to date, follow the team on its official Facebook, X and Instagram accounts: @BaylorFutbol.
Baylor ended its non-conference campaign with a 7-1 record, the most wins ahead of the league slate in the Michelle Lenard era and the most for the program since the 2018 squad matched the win count, to be ranked 12th in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Bears' only loss came against Texas State, which just dropped to No. 18 after suffering its first loss of the season.
BU picked up one top-10 win already this year in the season opener, a 4-1 rout of No. 10 Arkansas in Fayetteville, the first such win for the program since a 2-1 victory over No. 8 TCU in Fort Worth in 2021. Lenard is 1-1 against top-10 teams, and the program is 3-6-3 against top-10 teams over the last 10 seasons.
Friday's match will be the 15th between the two programs, with WVU holding a 10-2-2 series advantage after the teams last met in 2024, when the Mountaineers extended their winning streak over BU to three matches with a 2-0 victory at Betty Lou Mays Field. The Bears' last win against WVU came in 2019, a 4-2 decision in Waco.
WVU enters the match at 5-0-1, fresh off its first draw of the season, a 1-1 result over UConn at home last Sunday. The Mountaineers have stacked wins over Dayton, then-No. 23 Penn State, Duquesne, Princeton, Army and Marshall while outscoring their opponents 10-3 and never allowing more than one goal in a match.
Sophia Nickel leads West Virginia with three goals off the bench in all six matches, on just six shots on goal. Anna Hauer and Maya Leoni have two assists each after both started in all six matches. In goal, Bailey Herfurth logged all 540 minutes between the posts with a 0.5 goals-against average and three clean sheets.
For the Bears, freshman Grace White took the team lead with her fourth goal of the season at Oral Roberts last Sunday night, while Aryanna Jimison added her third goal, tied with Lauren Omholt. Theresa McCullough has four of BU's 21 total assists on the season, the fourth most in the Big 12.
Azul Alvarez, the Big 12's Goalkeeper of the Week, paced the league with six saves last week to up her total to 22 after 720 minutes in goal, allowing a 1.0 GAA for all seven wins with a pair of clean sheets.
The season continues Thursday, Sept. 24, as Baylor comes back to Betty Lou Mays Field to host Oklahoma State. First touch is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+ with free admission on the Banks of the Brazos.
To stay up to date, follow the team on its official Facebook, X and Instagram accounts: @BaylorFutbol.
- BaylorBears.com -
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