Wheeling, W. Va – As the race for the Mountain East Conference (MEC) playoffs heats up, the Wheeling University Women's Soccer team (5-8-1, 5-7-1) honor some of the women who helped them get there. The Cardinals play host to Davis & Elkins on Saturday with kick-off at 5 PM in their final regular season home game at Bishop Schmitt Field. Before the game starts, Wheeling will take the time to honor its seniors as part of their Senior Day ceremonies.
The last time out for the Cardinals they dropped a close matchup to Concord Wednesday night losing 6-3. The game ended up being an offensive shootout between both teams with a combined total of 9 goals by each team Wednesday night. Concord started out hot by scoring their first goal in the first four minutes of the game, then added on top of that with another goal in the 9th minute. The Cardinals were able to take over offensively for the next 10 minutes by taking the next four shots. Then in the 32nd minute, Wheeling was able to get on the board with a goal from Mary Difonzo from the 15-yard line as she kicked it over the goalkeeper. Then shortly after with 9 minutes left in the half Wheeling was able to tie the game up 2-2 with another goal from Brayden Porter. However, the game would not stay tied long as the Mountain Lions took a 3-2 lead at the 37th minute and this would give them the lead going into halftime. Coming out in the second half Concord would take control offensively as they would take the first four shots, but none would go in the net. The Mountain Lions would eventually build on their lead in the 72nd minute as they took a 4-2 lead. The Cardinals would respond quickly as they took the ball in the next minute as Talynn DeBartolo would send the ball to Porter and she would get her second goal of the evening. With that score, it cut Concord's lead to 4-3 in the middle of the second half. However, Concord would eventually add on two more scores to push the lead 6-3 which ended up being the final score of this offensive shootout. This loss dropped the Cardinals to (5-9-1) 0verall and (5-7-1) in the Conference.
It was a big game for graduate student Braedynn Porter, who picked up her first multi-goal game of the season. Since going on a short three-game drought, Porter has come back strong scoring three goals over her last two games. She is currently tied for the team lead in goals with Mary DiFonzo with each player having seven. Porter is a big part of the offensive success for the Cardinals and will look to continue to lead them as they head down the stretch and towards the 2022 MEC Playoffs.
With just three conference games remaining on the schedule, every matchup is important for Wheeling from here on in. The Cardinals need two more wins or two more West Liberty losses to be able to claim their first spot in the MEC tournament in program history. Entering play on Saturday, the team sits as the #3 seed in the MEC North Division and is just one game ahead of #4 seeded Notre Dame College. Wheeling is trying to fend off rival West Liberty, who sits just three points behind them, for that final playoff spot. A win on Saturday would go a long way towards helping the Cardinals as they try and claim that first-ever playoff spot.
The Match Up:
The Cardinals and Senators are meeting for the 15th time in program history on Saturday with Davis & Elkins leading the overall matchup with a record of 8-6. The Cardinals hold equal 3-4 records both on the road and at Bishop Schmitt Field against Davis & Elkins and Wheeling will look to even up the all-time series in Wheeling.
The Cardinals won the last time these two teams faced each other with a 3-0 victory in 2021. In the last match, Braedynn Porter had a big game with 2 goals while Mary Difonzo would also score a goal as well providing the offense for the Cardinals. Then defensively the Cardinals would hold off strong as Mikayla Yarwood would have 14 saves which would keep Davis & Elkins off the board.
The Details
Kick-off for Saturday's game is scheduled for 5 PM at Bishop Schmitt Field, with pregame senior day ceremonies set to start at around 4:40 PM. You can watch the action live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
