Fresh off a victory over then No. 5 Georgetown last weekend, the No. 1 West Virginia women’s soccer team is back in action Thursday evening at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium against a highly ranked team.

Renewing a once-fierce rivalry, top-ranked WVU hosts No. 10 Virginia, as the two teams square off in the regular season for the first time since 2011.

“It’s going to be a battle,” head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “It’s always a huge rivalry and one of the best teams in the country.”

The game marks the first time the Mountaineers have played a home game since defeating Duke in last year’s NCAA tournament. It’s also the third time in the last four year that WVU has started its home slate of games against a ranked team.

West Virginia will put its home winning streak on the line, having not lost a home match in regulation since falling 2-0 to No. 21 Duke on August 29, 2014. Over the last three years, WVU is 35-2-3 in Morgantown.

The Mountaineers enter the season as five-time defending regular season Big 12 champs. Despite losing key contributors Ashley Lawrence and Kadeisha Buchanan, West Virginia returns 85 percent of its offensive production from last year, including senior Michaela Abam, who led the team in goals scored at 12. Abam is already off to a good start this season. She scored the lone goal in the season opener against the Hoyas.

Kickoff between the Mountaineers and Cavaliers is set for 7 p.m. You can hear all WVU women’s soccer home games broadcasted in the Morgantown area on 91.7 FM, or online at u92.wvu.edu.