West Virginia women's soccer perseveres against the heat during Arizona road swing
By Joseph Smith
The heat was sweltering in Tucson, Ariz. on Sunday, but West Virginia women's soccer didn't let it keep them down.
Despite spending an afternoon in a blistering 104-degree temperature to cap a cross-country trip that saw the Mountaineers cross multiple time zones to play two games, WVU managed to battle Arizona to a 1-1 draw in a crucial Big 12 road contest. The Mountaineers finished their road swing in Arizona 1-0-1 altogether after securing a 2-1 over Arizona State last Thursday.
"I've never been so excited to feel rain drops on my head, that's for sure," head coach Nikki-Izzo Brown said Monday. "I'm proud of the way we performed in such tough heat advisories."
The first-ever Arizona-based road trip in program history leaves WVU 8-2-2 overall, and 4-0-1 in conference play -- the 4-0 start in league play before Sunday's draw marked it's first such start since 2016.
West Virginia is now 1-0 all-time against Arizona State and remains unbeaten against Arizona with a record of 1-0-1 in their all-time series.
Looking ahead, the Mountaineers will return to Morgantown to host a Big 12 matchup against UCF on Friday, October 4. The kickoff at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown is set for 7 p.m. EST.
The Knights enter 3-2-4 on the season overall. The Mountaineers lost 4-2 to UCF last year but are 2-1 overall in the all-time series. The game against UCF will also be the annual Pack it Pink match, with fans encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness.