Wheeling, W. Va. – On Saturday, Wheeling University was celebrating Homecoming, with events all across campus. The Wheeling Women's Soccer team (3-10-1, 2-9-1) wrapped up the day's festivities when they hosted Glenville State at 7 PM. Unfortunately, things did not go the Cardinal's way, as they fell 2-1.

It was an early attack by Glenville State that sunk the Cardinals, as they scored two goals in the first seven minutes of the game. The first goal came in the third minute of the game when Merel Smets took a free-kick and sailed it over the keeper's head to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead. Four minutes later, Glenville was back at it again when Miki Abe took a pass from Heidi Hunter and found the net to extend the lead to 2-0. The offense wasn't able to get things going throughout the first half of the game and would be held off the board for the first 45 minutes. The teams headed into halftime with that same 2-0 score.

Wheeling outshot Glenville 8-7 in that first half and was pretty efficient landing five of those shots on net. After the two early scores from the Pioneers, goalkeeper Mikayla Yarwood settled down and kept Glenville off the board for the remaining 38 minutes of the half. Wheeling was putting shots on net, but they weren't finding ways to beat the keeper. In the second half, Wheeling would look to generate more offensive opportunities and find a way to get back into a game that was still very much up for grabs. They did that, taking 10 shots in the second half as they tried to complete a comeback.

For the first 31 minutes of that second half, the Pioneers kept Wheeling at bay. However, in the 76^th minute, senior Braedynn Porter made her move and got the Cardinals on the board. With two defenders hot on her tail, Porter moved around the defense and took a shot at the bottom left corner of the net. It sailed through and Wheeling was back within a goal. Over the final 14 minutes of play, Wheeling took several shots towards the net, but they weren't nearly as accurate. Of the 10 second-half shots they took, only four were on goal. This led to their downfall as they dropped the game 2-1.

It was a pair of seniors leading the offense as Porter finished the day with five shots, three on goal, and Kenadee Burgoyne finished with three shots, two on goal. Freshman Talynn DeBartolo had a strong game of her own, finishing with four shots, three on goal to round out the double-digit shot takers. Yarwood allowed just the two goals in net, but made eight saves on 10 shots faced. The loss drops Wheeling to 3-10-1 on the season and 2-9-1 in Mountain East Conference(MEC) play. They are looking to finish the season out strong as they play over their final four games of the year.

The Wheeling Women's Soccer team is back in action on Wednesday when they hit the road to face Concord at 6:30 pm.