Wheeling, W., Va. – After a strong open to the 2021 season, the Wheeling University Women's Soccer team (1-0-0) comes home on Thursday when they face off against Ursuline College at 2 PM. It has been a big week for the women, as they received two Mountain East Conference (MEC), Player of the Week Award winners while pulling off their first victory of the season against Lake Erie College.
It took them a while to get the offense going in the game, but once they started, it was all Cardinals. MEC Defensive Player of the Week Mikayla Yarwood (Surrey, British Columbia/Clayton Heights) went to work over the first 20 minutes of the game, making four big saves to keep Lake Erie off the board. Wheeling wouldn't get their first shot off until the 22nd minute but rewarded their goalkeeper nine minutes later. Senior Landree Wilkin (Orangeville, PA/Benton) took a pass from senior Lainey Brown (Moundsville, WV./John Marshall) for the first goal of the game to make it 1-0 Cardinals.
The offense would put the game out of reach in the second half when the co-MEC Offensive Player of the week Braedynn Porter (Mineral Ridge, OH./Mineral Ridge) got going. After taking a Yellow Card in the 52nd minute, Porter used it as motivation and found the net two minutes later to make it 2-0 Cardinals. She would then deliver the knockout punch in the 59th minute, taking a pass from Morgan McGhee and finding the back of the net to bring the score to 3-0. It was a big win to open the season for Wheeling and gives them some momentum in non-conference play.
Thursday marked the first time that Wheeling has won its season opener since 2009 when they beat Shippensburg University 5-4 in overtime. Now, the women get ready to head home to open Bishop Schmitt Field in one final tune-up before MEC play begins on September 15th.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Arrows have matched up three times before, with Wheeling going 0-3 in those games. Wheeling is averaging one goal per game and has yet to be shut out in any of those three games. They haven't hosted Ursuline College at Bishop Schmitt Field since 2013, and are 0-2 against the Arrows on the road and 0-1 against them at home.
Their last match-up came on August 30th, 2018, in a game that Ursuline College would win by the score of 3-1. It was a fast and furious offensive attack by the Arrows as they netted all three goals in the first half. They got the scoring started in the 16th minute and followed with goals in the 34th and 40th minutes to enter halftime ahead 3-0. Former Cardinals Karly Judy and Emily Hardy teamed up for the Cardinal's first goal of the day in the 89th minute of the game, but by then, it was too late as the Cardinals fell 3-0.
The Details
Kick-off between Wheeling University and Ursuline College is scheduled for 2:00 PM at Bishop Schmitt Field. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with live stats by clicking HERE.
