Wheeling, W. Va. - Entering Sunday's match, the Wheeling University Women's Soccer team (5-7-2, 2-6-2) has won two of their last three games and sit five points out of the final MEC Tournament spot in the MEC North Division. They will take on the team that sits directly in front of them for that final playoff spot on Sunday when they hit the road to face Fairmont State at 1 PM.

A win would have the Cardinals in prime position to make a run for the #4 seed in the MEC North, but a loss would have them on the outside looking in over their final three games of the season.
Last time out, the Cardinals offense exploded as they took on Salem in non-conference action and scored the most points they have scored in a single game since the 2009 season. Wheeling shot their way to an 11-0 win over the Tigers, scoring the most goals in a game since they beat the Tigers 13-0 back on October 16th, 2009. Nine different Cardinals would get involved on the day and the team held a .542 shot on goal percentage on the day. Wheeling outshot the Tigers 35-1 on the day as they possessed the ball, allowing just one Salem shot in the first half. The win gave the Cardinals offense a lot of momentum heading into their weekend matchup and they look to keep it going on the road.

Leading the way in that game for the Cardinals was junior Mary DiFonzo, who finished with the first hat trick of her career, while adding on an assist. Her first two goals came in the game's 22nd and 25th minutes respectively, while she finished off the hat trick in the 85th minute with the team's 10th goal of the night. It was the second hat trick of the season for the Cardinals as DiFonzo joins teammate Medina Doka, who picked up a hat trick at the beginning of the month against Davis & Elkins. The effort helped propel DiFonzo to the top of the Cardinal's offensive leaderboards as she leads the team in both goals (8), assists (5), and points (21). Four of those eight goals have come in the last two games as DiFonzo looks to be a strong scoring threat for the team down the stretch.

Behind DiFonzo, eight different Cardinals accounted for the other 11 goals on the night, including four different players finding the back of the net for the first time in their collegiate careers. All four of those first time goal scorers came in the second half as Caryn Goins, Allison Cook, Bri Perry, and Tayler Wells all got on the board for the first time. Talynn DeBartolo added a goal of her own to give her seven on the season, while leading the way with two assists, and Nyah Smith scored her sixth goal of the year to round out the Cardinal's top three scorers. The final goals came courtesy of Olivia Hoban and Phepha Seopa who rounded out the big offensive day for the Cardinals. With so many different goal scorers for the Cardinals, they look to keep the momentum going as they head into the big showdown.

As things sit now, Fairmont State holds the #4 spot in the division with 13 points while Wheeling sits right behind them with eight points. A win on Sunday would add three more points to the Cardinal's record and put them just two points out of the final playoff spot. With three games remaining, it would put the Cardinals in the driver's seat. The Cardinals and Falcons have a very similar schedule down the stretch, with Wheeling playing Frostburg State, Notre Dame College, and West Liberty down the stretch while Fairmont State's only two conference games following Sunday come against Notre Dame College on Wednesday and Frostburg State on the final Wednesday of the season. Wheeling looks to control their own destiny and a win Sunday would go a long way to doing just that.

The Matchup

The Cardinals and Falcons will be meeting for the 18th time in program history, and the second time during the 2023 season. Fairmont State leads the all-time series with a record of 12-4-1 over the previous 17 games, including a 1-0 win in Wheeling earlier this season. However, the Cardinals have had more success on the road against the Falcons all-time, going 3-5 in Fairmont, West Virginia compared to a 1-7-1 mark when they host the Falcons. The Cardinal's last win against Fairmont State came on October 25th, 2017, and the Cardinals are looking to snap their 11-game losing streak against Fairmont State on Sunday.

In their first meeting of the season, the Cardinals took 11 shots on the afternoon, but were only able to put five on net, in what was a 1-0 loss to the Falcons. Mary DiFonzo accounted for over half of her team's shots, taking six and putting tow on net, while Talynn DeBartolo added three shots and put one on net. Olivia Kqira had a big game for the Cardinals, making 12 saves on 13 shots faced to keep the Cardinals in it throughout.

The Details

Kick-off for Saturday's game is scheduled for 1 PM at Duvall-Rosier Field on the campus of Fairmont State University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.