No. 3 seed WVU will begin play in the 2024 Sprouts Farmers Market Big 12 Championship

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The No. 3 seed West Virginia University women's soccer team (12-4-2, 8-2-1 Big 12) begins its hunt for a Big 12 Tournament title in a quarterfinal game against No. 6 seed Kansas on Saturday. November 2nd. Kickoff is scheduled for approximately 6:15 p.m. ET at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.

Saturday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN+, with Chuckie Kempf and Sarah Gonzalez. Live stats are also available at Big12.StatBroadcast.com.

Of note, the Big 12 Championship returns to Kansas City for the first time since 2019 after three seasons in Round Rock, Texas. The championship will be played for the first time in conference history at CPKC Stadium, home of the NWSL's Kansas City Current.

The Mountaineers hold a 17-4-3 all-time record in the Big 12 Championship Game and enter this year's tournament looking for their sixth Big 12 Tournament title. Last season, No. 5 seed West Virginia lost 3-1 to No. 4 seed Texas in the quarterfinals on Oct. 30.

Overall, West Virginia has won 18 conference championships, including five Big 12 Tournament titles. Most recently, WVU won the 2022 Big 12 Championship in Round Rock, Texas.

Saturday's contest marks the 16th all-time meeting between West Virginia and Kansas and the second this season. WVU leads the series 10-3-2 while the series is tied 1-1 in neutral site matches. In the first meeting between the two teams this season, the Mountaineers secured a 3-2 victory over the Jayhawks on September 22nd. Ajanae Respass, AJ Rodriguez And Olexa Abbey achieved the victory.

The Mountaineers and Jayhawks have met in the regular season every year since WVU joined the conference in 2012, as well as in two meetings in the Big 12 Tournament. Saturday's Big 12 quarterfinal game marks WVU and KU's first meeting in the Big 12 championship since 2019 – a 2-0 win by KU in the quarterfinals.

West Virginia capped the regular season with a 4-1 victory over Houston on October 25 at the Carl Lewis International Complex in Houston, Texas. The Mountaineers tallied a score in the first half before scoring three goals in the second – two of them Taylor White and one from Olexa. White scored her two goals within 33 seconds. Olivia Shertzer, Annika Leslie, Lilly McCarthy and Respass were credited with assists in the win.

Nate Lie is in his first season as the Jayhawks' head coach after being hired as the program's fourth head coach in December 2023. Kansas enters Saturday's matchup with a record of 10-5-4 this season, including 6-4-1 mark in Big 12 play. The team is coming off a 2-1 win over Arizona State in the first round of the Big 12 Championship on Oct. 30. Jillian Gregorski and Lexi Watts are tied for the team lead in goals with eight, while Watts leads the team with 19 points. In goal, Sophie Dawe made 35 saves and a .673 save percentage.

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