Wheeling, W. Va. – The Wheeling University Women's Soccer team (3-5-1, 1-4-1) opened up October at home as they welcomed in Davis & Elkins on Sunday. The offense went off to start the new month, setting a season-high with six goals as they took down the Senators 6-3. Sophomore Medina Doka led the way with the first hat trick of her career as she paced the Cardinals throughout the afternoon.

Both offenses got going early, with five of the nine goals scored over the first 13 minutes of play. The Cardinals came out strong, taking the first two shots of the game, putting one on goal and one off. At the 4:12 mark, they were awarded a corner kick and two minutes later, freshman Nyah Smith would find the back of the net to give Wheeling the 1-0 lead. It was Smith's team leading fifth goal of the season and it was the fastest that the team has been on the board yet this season, coming in the sixth minute. However, three minutes later, the script was flipped as Davis & Elkins's Alexa Karsel scored to even things at 1-1. On the ensuing kick-off the Cardinals got possession and moved quickly down the field. Talynn DeBartolo would take a pass from Phepha Seopa and found the back of the net and in the 10th minute, Wheeling was staked to a 2-1 lead.

The Cardinals would get off another shot in that tent minute, this time by Seopa, but it ended up going wide of net. In the 12th minute, Davis & Elkins tied the score once again at 2-2, but the Cardinals offense just kept coming. Smith and Mary DiFonzo each put shots on net that were saved by Davis & Elkins goalkeeper Gabriela Acevedo, but the third shot by DeBartolo would find the back of the net. Wheeling was ahead 3-2 and the game hadn't even reached the 15 minute mark. The next ten minutes were all about Doka, as she picked up two goals in the span of 13 minutes. Her first came at the 18 minute mark, as she took a pass from DeBartolo and found the bottom right corner of the net to extend Wheeling's lead to 4-2. 10 minutes later, she was back at it again, taking a pass from Smith and finding the net for her second goal of the day to make it 5-2 in favor of the Cardinals.

Davis & Elkins would not find the net again before the half let out and the team's headed into the locker room with Wheeling leading 5-2. The five first half goals were the most for the Cardinals this season as their forwards were able to get into a rhythm. It would be a shootout throughout the first half, with Wheeling outshooting the Senators 16-14 over the first 45 minutes of play. Both defenses were looking to come up with stops over the second half as Wheeling looked to hold the lead. Both offenses would eventually slow down in the second half as Davis & Elkins would outshoot Wheeling 6+5 in the second half. As the second half started, Davis & Elkins would be the first on the board, scoring in the 54th minute as they cut the Cardinal lead to 5-3.

The score would remain 5-3 for the next 28 minutes as both defenses took control. Goalkeeper Olivia Kqira would face three more shots on net in the half, making the save on all three of them as she helped protect the two goal lead. In the 82nd minute, Doka would have one more chance to complete her hat trick as Nyah Smith came up the field. Smith found an open Doka in front of the net, and the sophomore took her shot and snuck it into the back of the net. It was the first career hat trick for Doka, and the first hat trick for the Wheeling Women's Soccer team since former Cardinal Jessie Vilkofsky completed the feet on September 8th, 2013. The Cardinals would close out the 6-3 victory as they picked up their first conference win of the season.

Leading the way for the Cardinals was Doka, who took four shots on the day, putting three on goal, and scoring on all three of those shots on goal. Doka now has four goals in three games played this season and has been a big boost to the Cardinak's offense. The other multi-goal scorer on the day for the Cardinals was Talynn DeBartolo, who netted two goals on four shots on the day. The final Cardinal goal came courtesy of Nyah Smith, who finished with her fifth goal of the season and now leads the team. Olivia Kqira had another double digit save in net, finishing with 10 saves on 13 shots faced to end the day.

The Wheeling University Women's Soccer team returns to action on Wednesday, October 4th, when they hit the road to face Concord at 1 PM.