Wheeling, W. Va. - Over the last couple of weeks the Wheeling University women's soccer team has been fighting for their first Mountain East Conference playoff berth. That fight has come down to the final game as wheeling heads to West Liberty for the Battle of Wheeling with a spot In the MEC (Mountain East Conference) playoffs on the line. for the Cardinals to clinch a spot, they just have to make sure they don't fall to the Hilltoppers by four goals or more. 

The Cardinals had an opportunity to clinch that playoff spot on Wednesday, but they ended up falling to West Virginia Wesleyan 5-2. After taking just two shots over the first 17 minutes of play, Wheeling would end up being the first on the board. Sophomore Mary DiFonzo found Bailey Walker in front of the net, who capitalized with her first career goal to get Wheeling out in front 1-0. The Bobcats would add a goal in the games 34th minute, and the teams would go into the locker room tied 1-1. The Cardinals would score the first goal of the second half as well courtesy of Kenadee Burgoyne, and Wheeling was staked to a 2-1 lead. However, West Virginia Wesleyan just kept coming, scoring three second half goals to win 5-2. 

Freshman Bailey Walker got her first career start for the Cardinals and took advantage with a big day on the field. She finished with two shots, both on goal, and scored her first career goal in the loss as she added another element to the Cardinal's offense. Kenadee Burgoyne provided the other Wheeling goal on the day, pulling into a tie for the team lead with seven goals this season. In total, four Cardinals have five or more goals this season, marking the first time in program history that it has been done since the team joined the Mountain East Conference back in 2013. 

While they didn't get involved in the scoring game, Braedynn Porter and Talynn DeBartolo continued to make their presence felt on the offensive side of the ball as well. Porter ended up leading the team with three shots, two on goal, while DeBartolo added two shots, one on goal, in the game. Both have been leaders on that end this season and will look to finish the regular season out strong as they try to clinch a playoff berth. On the defensive end, Mikayla Yarwood got the bulk of the work in net for the Cardinals and finished with nine saves on 14 shots faced as she took a barrage of shots throughout the night. 

The race for the final spot in the MEC playoffs has come down to the final week in a big matchup of two bitter rivals. Entering Saturday's game, the Cardinals sit three points ahead of the Hilltoppers and with a one game lead in the standings. The Cardinals control their own destiny heading into Saturday's game as a win would clinch them a spot in the 2022 MEC Tournament. However, even if they lose, they still have a chance to make the tournament. While their records would be identical, Wheeling holds the goal differential advantage over the Hilltoppers at +3. If Wheeling does not lose Saturday's game by more than three goals, they will clinch the playoff spot. If they lose by three goals, Wheeling would still clinch the playoff spot as the next tiebreaker is record against common opponents in descending order starting with the highest seed. Wheeling went 0-1-1 against Frostburg State while West Liberty went 0-2 against them, giving Wheeling the advantage. 

The Matchup 

The Cardinals and Hilltoppers are meeting for the 21st time in program history, and the second time this season. West Liberty holds the overall advantage with a record of 13-6-1, but the Cardinals have won each of the last two meetings, not allowing a Hilltoppers goal in either of those two games. The Cardinals have not fared well on the hilltop in their history, going 1-7-1 in those nine matchups as they look for just their second win in West Liberty, West Virginia. 

In their first meeting of the 2022 season, the Cardinals defeated the Hilltoppers 3-0 at Bishop Schmitt Field. In that game, Kenadee Burgoyne got the scoring started in the 23rd minute and goals by Linda Obare and Phepa Seopa finished off the scoring. Mikayla Yarwood got the start in net for Wheeling and made two saves on the two shots she faced throughout the night. 

The Details 

Kick-off for Saturday's game is scheduled for 3:30 PM on the campus of West Liberty University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.