West Liberty, W. Va. – Entering Saturday, the Cardinals needed a win or to not lose by more than three goals to clinch their first-ever Mountain East Conference (MEC) playoff berth. They did their part as they took down West Liberty on Saturday afternoon 3-2. The win moved them to 6-11-1 overall and 6-9-1 in MEC play as they clinch the #4 spot in the MEC North Division.

After West Liberty got off the first shot of the game in the seventh minute, Wheeling came through with the next three shots to control the offense. Then, in the 20th minute, after a Wheeling shot off net, Medina Doka had the ball in the offensive zone. She scored her third goal of the year as Wheeling took an early 1-0 lead. It was just the first of a four goal first half for the two teams as the scoring just got started. 14 minutes later, the Cardinals had two missed shots and an offsides gave them the ball back. Mary DiFonzo brought the ball back up the midfield and got an opening in the defense. She found her shot and put it through to give Wheeling a 2-0 lead. The Hilltoppers got their offense going over the final 10 minutes, scoring two goals and the teams went into halftime tied at 2-2.

In the second half, Wheeling came out right away and put two shots on net in the first five minutes. Both were saved and it was back to the drawing board for the Cardinals offense. After a West Liberty foul, Wheeling brought the ball back up the field and added on the game winning goal. Braedynn Porter scored the goal, and the Cardinals had a one goal lead. Nine minutes later, West Liberty would have a chance to tie the game as they earned a Penalty Kick opportunity. However, Mikayla Yarwood came up with her biggest save of the year as she denied the shot and kept it a 3-2 Cardinals lead. The Hilltoppers got off just two more shot the rest of the night, one on net, and Wheeling went on to win by that 3-2 score and clinch their first ever MEC Playoff spot.

Mary DiFonzo led the offense with five shots, two on goal, and one goal in the win. Braedynn Porter added four shots, three on goal, while adding her eighth goal of the year. Medina Doka added the final goal of the night while Kenadee Burgoyne added four shots, one on net. Mikayla Yarwood started the game in net and finished the night with five shots on seven shots faced. Wheeling is now the #4 seed in the MEC North Division and will now face #1 Frostburg State on Tuesday for the first round of the tournament.

The Wheeling University Women's Soccer team will hit the road for the first round of the MEC Tournament when they battle #1 Frostburg State.