West Virginia women’s soccer cruised past Wagner to win the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The No. 7-seeded Mountaineers scored four goals in the first half to beat the Seahawks 5-0 to advance to the second round of the tournament. WVU plays No. 2-seeded Georgetown on Thursday in the second round. The Hoyas will host the game as the higher seed and beat Georgia in the first round 3-0.

With the win, WVU moved to 14-3-3 and advanced to the second round for the first time since 2022, when the Mountaineers beat Virginia Tech in the first round. WVU lost to Penn State in the second round shortly after.

It was a dominant night from start to finish. Sophomore forward Alicia Riggins and junior forward Abbey Olexa led the Mountaineers with two goals apiece.

Riggins’ first goal came from well outside the area, just above the arms of Wagner’s goalkeeper. Just a few minutes later, Riggins scored again to put the Mountaineers up 4-0. Riggins hadn’t scored all season, but scored two in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Olexa took the pass from sophomore midfielder Maddie Levy and drilled it into the top of the net for the second goal in the 22nd minute. It was her fifth goal of the year to put the Mountaineers up 2-0. She scored again to make it 5-0, and it got to the point where it became repetitive to celebrate.

It was all WVU all night. The Mountaineers outshot Wagner 38-1.

The Mountaineers started off hot, scoring right out of the gates. WVU took a shot on goal just three minutes into the game. The ball was blocked by a Wagner hand, and the Mountaineers were awarded a free kick. Junior forward Anna Hauer took the kick and slotted it past the keeper for a quick score, 1-0. It was Hauer’s fourth goal of the season.

The Mountaineers’ five goals were the most they’ve scored all season.

It was a big bounce-back game for the Mountaineers after losing in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament to Kansas, 4-0. WVU was outshot 22-7 in that match.

WVU will look to carry the momentum into the second round against Georgetown. The Mountaineers have fared well against the Hoyas and lead the series 16-7-3. The last matchup was in 2022, where the Mountaineers lost 2-0 in Washington, D.C.