South Euclid, OH. - The Wheeling University Women's Soccer team (3-5-1, 2-4-1) went on the road Wednesday to face Notre Dame College looking for a season series sweep. They battled hard throughout the afternoon, but unfortunately were unable to get on the board as they fell to the Falcons 1-0 and picked up their fourth Mountain East Conference (MEC) loss of the season.

The only goal the Cardinals allowed came early in the game as the Falcons got on the board in the 16^th minute. Sammy Salatino took a pass from Drew Barr and snuck the ball past goalkeeper Mikayla Yarwood to make it 1-0. Note Dame College was first to score in the first meeting between these two teams, and the Cardinals were looking to get back on the board. Yarwood was solid for the rest of the half, making two big saves to keep the Falcons off the board. The Falcons took three shots over the final 15 minutes of the first half, and Wheeling went into halftime trailing 1-0.

The offense struggled to get anything going on the afternoon, getting off just one shot in the first 45 minutes of the game. They were outshot 8-1 in that first half and were looking to create more scoring opportunities in the second half. The second half offered more scoring opportunities on both sides of the ball, but the defenses were just as gold. Wheeling was clinging onto the fourth spot in the MEC North Division, and a win today would have put them in a much better position to make a run to this year 's MEC Championship.

In the second half, Wheeling was outshot 10-6 in the second half, but Wheeling almost broke through in the 65^th minute. The Cardinals got three consecutive shots off courtesy of Kenadee Burgoyne and Mary DiFonzo, but the Falcons goalkeeper made the save every shot. Yarwood was forces to leave the game at the end of the first half, but Rilei Levesque came in and performed well. She made one save in that second half, but didn't allow the Falcons to get on the board the rest of the way. The Cardinals final chance came in the 83^rd minute when Burgoyne ripped one towards the bottom left corner of the net, but it was stopped. That would be their final chance as they fell 1-0.

Burgoyne and DiFonzo each led the offense with three shots each and two shots on goal each in the loss. Yarwood played 33 minutes of the game and made one save while Levesque played the final 56 minutes in nset and made two saves. The loss drops Wheeling to 3-5-1 overall and 2-4-1 in conference play. The loss earns Wheeling a season split with the Falconsas the year moves beyond the halfway mark. With nine games left in 2021, Wheeling is looking to turn things around and finish the season strong.

The Wheeling University Women's Soccer team is back in action on Sunday when they head on the road to face West Virginia State this Sunday at 3 PM.