Wheeling, W. Va. - After dropping a close game to West Virginia State over the weekend, the Wheeling University Women's Soccer team (3-6-1, 2-5-1) return home to Bishop Schmitt Field looking to right the ship. They battle The University of Charleston, which sits in a similar situation as the Cardinals in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) South Division.
Wheeling comes into the games on the heels of a tough-luck loss to West Virginia State that handed the team their fifth conference loss of the season. Wheeling fell behind early as the Yellow Jackets got on the board in the seventh minute of the game and then added onto their lead in the 36th minute. With the Cardinals down two heading into halftime, Wheeling was looking for a way to get the offense going and get back into the game.
They would find that quick-strike offense right away in the second half when Braedynn Porter got a hold of the opening kick-off. She took the ball down the field, and 22 seconds later, what was once a two-goal deficit into a 2-1 score. With things looking up, the Cardinals were bound and determined to fight their way back into the game. They were able to get more shots off in the second half, but unfortunately, those shots weren't very accurate. Of the four shots taken by the Cardinals in the second half, one was on goal, and they ended up falling by the final score of 2-1.
Porter was the offensive leader once again for the Cardinals, taking two shots and putting two on goal, while fellow senior Kenadee Burgoyne took three shots and put one on goal. Senior goalkeeper Mikayla Yarwood returned to the starting lineup and had a good day allowing just two goals and making three saves in the win.
With the loss, Wheeling falls to 2-5-1 in conference play and currently sits in fourth place in the MEC North Division. They have already wrapped up their season series with third-place Notre Dame, who they sit three games behind, and still, have one game each remaining against West Liberty (second place) and Frostburg State (first place). Wheeling will need good performances against those two teams if they want to fight back into the MEC playoff picture.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Golden Eagles have faced off 22 times in the team's history, and Wheeling has managed to go 7-14-2 in those games. However, when the games are at Bishop Schmitt Field, the Cardinals have gone 2-5-2 against the Cardinals, fairing much better than their 5-9 road record suggests. However, the women's soccer team is looking for redemption as they haven't beaten The University of Charleston since the 2013 season.
Their last match-up came on October 17th, 2019, in a game the Golden Eagles won 3-1 in Charleston, West Virginia. Former Cardinal Marley Magruder got her team on the board early in that game, scoring in the 31st minute, but Charleston would respond with three unanswered goals to bring the game to its final score of 3-1. Wednesday's game will be the first between these two teams played in Wheeling since the 2017 season.
The Details
Kick-off for Wednesday afternoon's game is scheduled for 3 PM at Bishop Schmitt Field. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
