Wheeling, W. Va. - The Wheeling University Women's Soccer team (3-5-1, 2-4-1) continues their journey as road warriors when they head to Institute, West Virginia, to battle West Virginia State at 3 PM. It is the second straight road game for the Cardinals as they look to bounce back from a close road loss their last time out.
They battled Notre Dame College in South Euclid, Ohio, but couldn't find their way on the board as they fell 1-0 to drop to 2-4-1 in conference play. Wheeling was outshot in the game 18-6, but when it came to putting shots on net, the score was evened with each team putting four shots on net. The Cardinals lost their starting goalkeeper Mikayla Yarwood in the first half, but Rilei Levesque stepped in and held the Falcons to just one goal.
That goal would come in the 16th minute of the game when Notre Dame's Sammy Salatino scored on a pass from Drew Barr to make the score 1-0. Yarwood made one save in that first half before having to leave the game in the 33rd minute of play. Levesque took over and made one more save to keep Notre Dame off the board, helping the teams head into halftime with the Falcons holding a slim 1-0 lead over the Cardinals.
Wheeling was outshot 8-1 in the first half and was hoping to get more shots off in the second half of the game. They did just that, getting off six shots in the second half, putting four of those shots on net. Levesque continued to play a strong game in the second half and made two big saves to keep the Falcon's lead to just one. However, Notre Dame saved all four of Wheeling's second-half shots on goal and went on to win the game 1-0.
The loss gave Wheeling their fourth conference loss of the season and keeps Wheeling in fourth place in the MEC North Division. The top three teams in the conference each have just one loss on the season, and Wheeling will have to keep up if they want a shot at the 2021 MEC playoffs. They still have one game each with the top two teams in the MEC Nort, West Liberty, and Frostburg State, giving them time to battle their way back into the playoff race over their final nine games of the season.
The Match-up
Sunday will mark the first-ever match-up between the Cardinals and the Yellow Jackets in team history. West Virginia State formed its women's soccer team in the fall of 2019 and is playing a full Mountain East Conference schedule for the first time in school history. Wheeling is hoping to start the rivalry off with a win in their first-ever trip down to Institute, West Virginia.
The Details
Kick-off for Sunday's game is scheduled for 3 PM in Institute, West Virginia. You can watch the game live HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
