MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — No. 24 West Virginia was the superior side for a good portion of Thursday night’s matchup with Iowa State.

The Mountaineers applied pressure far more consistently and registered seven of 10 shots on goal and 10 of 13 corner kicks between the two teams, though the Cyclones were within one play of pulling even for the final 68 minutes and change.

“That’s soccer. I’ve been here 30 years. That’s going to happen,” WVU head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said.

Ultimately, Anna Hauer’s goal just before the midway point in the opening half made all the difference and the Mountaineers earned a 1-0 victory to remain unbeaten within the Big 12 Conference.

Hauer’s goal came off a crossing feed from teammate Taylor White, who put the Memphis transfer in position to get her left foot on the ball and beat ISU goalkeeper Kasey Cannistraro, allowing the home team to strike first.

“I don’t know if there’s ever a goal that I didn’t like,” Izzo-Brown said. “Anna got a piece of it and we’ll take it. I’ll win ugly.”

right place. right time. 🤝#HailWV | 📺 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/Xzgb0lLhic

— WVU Women’s Soccer (@wvuwomenssoccer) October 23, 2025

The Mountaineers (11-2-3, 6-0-3) managed four other shots on goal in the opening half, but Cannistraro was up to the task each time.

Iowa State, meanwhile, went to the break with two shots on goal, both of which WVU keeper Bailey Herfurth stopped en route to the Mountaineers’ ninth clean sheet this season. 

For all its success of late, West Virginia had allowed six goals over the previous three matches and finished 2-0-1 in that stretch.

“We had to get back to a shutout and that’s really important to the whole team collectively,” Izzo-Brown said.

Herfurth stopped one shot in the second half, and the Mountaineers nearly added to their lead on separate occasion in the late stages, but Cannistraro made a high-level save on a Maya Leoni shot in the 74th minute, before Alicia Riggins shot deflected off the crossbar in the 84th minute.

Still, WVU remained in the thick of the race for a Big 12 regular season championship and improved to 13-0 all-time against the Cyclones.

Iowa State fell to 4-8-3 overall and 1-7-1 in the Big 12.

“We hit everything but net in the second half,” Izzo-Brown said. “But I thought Iowa was way better than their record, so I don’t want to not speak to that. The second half, we have to finish one those chances, especially with how many corner kicks we had. But that’s soccer, we walked away with three points and I’m thrilled.”

West Virginia was momentarily in sole possession of first place in the Big 12 late Thursday until TCU secured a 1-0 win at Arizona to move atop the league standings.

The Horned Frogs are 7-1-1 in Big 12 play and have 22 points to WVU’s 21 points. Colorado, which defeated Texas Tech on Thursday, pulled into a tie for third place with the Red Raiders at 20 points each.

The Mountaineers return to action at noon Sunday when they welcome Oklahoma State. The regular season finale is next Thursday at home against Cincinnati. 

“Sunday will a bear,” Izzo-Brown said. “What we have to deal with Sunday, it’s always going to be at tough day to turnaround and match the effort from Thursday.”

This week on the Walk Thru Game Day Show, Eugene Napoleon and I preview this week’s matchup between West Virginia and TCU.

Also…

We open the show by discussing whether or not the future at quarterback is already on the roster in Khalil Wilkins or Scotty Fox, or if the Mountaineers will have to go out in the transfer portal to find that solution. We also make some predictions on some overs/unders that we manufactured for the final five games of the season, including how many quarterbacks start games, how many wins the Mountaineers can collect down the stretch, and how many key pieces to next year’s squad they can identify over the next month in addition to Jahiem White, Cam Vaughn, and Curtis Jones Jr.

After the break, Eugene makes his Napoleon’s dynamite pick of the week, we talk other players to watch, and then dive into the matchup before making our picks.

No. 18 USF at Memphis, 12 p.m. ET on ESPN2

No. 8 Ole Miss at No. 13 Oklahoma, 12 p.m. ET on ABC

No. 15 Missouri at No. 10 Vanderbilt, 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN

No. 11 BYU at Iowa State, 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX

TCU at West Virginia, 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+

Go over to our YouTube page, West Virginia On SI, and make your picks by placing them in the comments section. If you go 5/5, you’ll receive an autographed picture from Eugene Napoleon from his time at West Virginia

The Mountaineers and the Horned Frogs will kick things off at approximately 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

If you haven’t yet, please go over to our YouTube page, West Virginia On SI (@SI_WVU), and subscribe. You’ll get a notification the second a new episode of Between The Eers, The Walk Thru GameDay Show, or Mountaineer Postgame drops.

Football season show schedule

Between The Eers: Sundays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays

The Walk Thru GameDay Show: Thursdays

Mountaineer Postgame: Immediately after the game

MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI

Everything West Virginia Head Coach Ross Hodge Had to Say at Big 12 Media Day

How and When to Watch Ross Hodge, WVU Players Speak at Big 12 Media Day

Rich Rodriguez Pushes Back on the Idea That WVU is Far Behind UCF in its Rebuild

Rodriguez Teases Lineup Changes at WVU and All Eyes Are on the Offensive Line

Between The Eers: Why Bail on WVU After Just Seven Games?

The West Virginia Tax Division has filed liens on The Greenbrier Hotel and Greenbrier Sporting Club, both owned by the family of Senator Jim Justice, over sales taxes collected but not remitted.

The $1.36 million in financial obligations to the state piled up months ago, but the liens were filed with the Greenbrier County Clerk over the last several weeks.

The state tax issue is distinct from liens amounting to $8 million from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service against Justice and his wife, Cathy, for personal filings dating back to 2009.

On that conflict, Senator Justice this week told the national news outlet Politico, “I think the bottom line, the whole thing is we have a dispute. I think they owe me a whole lot more money than I owe them.”

MetroNews has reached out to Justice through his Senate office, The Greenbrier and his family’s Bluestone Industries, but has not yet received comment.

The liens from the West Virginia Tax Division apply to sales taxes that would have been paid by customers. West Virginia sales taxes are required to be filed and remitted monthly, quarterly, or annually, depending on an assigned filing frequency.

A lien of $535,143 on The Greenbrier Hotel Corporation was for sales taxes that were due to the state on March 31. The taxes, interest and penalty became due June 22, and the lien was filed with the county clerk on Sept. 5.

Another lien of $279,069 on The Greenbrier Hotel Corporation was for sales taxes that were due to the state on March 31. The tax, interest and penalty became due June 7, and the lien was filed August 5.

A lien of $474,278 on The Greenbrier was for sales tax collections that were due April 30. The amount became final on May 22, and the lien was processed by the county clerk on August 5.

A lien of $55,415 on The Greenbrier Sporting Club is for sales taxes that were due this past May 31. The amount became final June 22, and the lien was processed by the county clerk Sept. 5.

The officers of The Greenbrier Hotel Corp. include Jay and Jill Justice, the son and daughter of the U.S. senator.

To great acclaim in West Virginia, Jim Justice bought The Greenbrier in May 2009 from CSX Corporation for about $20 million.

His annual financial disclosure with the U.S. Senate, filed in July, continues to describe The Greenbrier as one of his major assets, along with a personal line of credit of $25 million to $50 million from Greenbrier Holdings.

The Greenbrier Hotel has one of just a few licensed casinos in West Virginia.

To operate in West Virginia, any business, including a casino, must hold a valid business registration certificate from the state tax department. Such a certificate can be suspended or revoked by the Tax Commissioner if the business fails to comply with state tax requirements.

Similarly, entities with a liquor license in West Virginia must obtain a Letter of Good Standing from the West Virginia Tax Division.

In most cases, taxpayers would be considered to be in good standing even with outstanding tax liabilities if they have a payment plan in place to address their outstanding liabilities and are not in default on the payment plan.

Last year, the state tax department also issued several liens on The Greenbrier for sales taxes that were collected but not remitted.

In that case, Justice, who was then governor, said a payment plan to straighten out the liens had gone into effect. Over time, the 2024 liens were withdrawn.

“All’s good in the neighborhood there,” he said at the time.

He added, “I told everybody repeatedly, over and over, if there’s an obligation we take care of it. We don’t need to spend time worrying about what’s going on with Jim Justice’s businesses.” He continued by saying, “Everything’s current, and everything’s moving right straight ahead.”