Wheeling, W. Va. – With October in full swing, it is time to celebrate friends, family, and alumni with Homecoming and Family Weekend. The Wheeling University Women's Soccer team (3-6-1, 1-5-1) is taking part in the weekend festivities as the third game of the day on Saturday when they host the University of Charleston, with kick-off at 7:30 PM. The Cardinals look for a bounce back effort after falling on the road last time out.
The Cardinals last made the trip down to Beckley, West Virginia, where they took on Concord on Wednesday afternoon. Early on, the defense played well, allowing just two goals over the game's first 45 minutes to keep the Cardinals in the game. However, the Concord defense was stronger, allowing just two Cardinal shots during that same stretch. The teams went into the locker room with Concord leading 2-0 and the Cardinals looking to break through. However, the Mountain Lion defense just kept coming as the Cardinals doubled their shot total in the second half but ended up being outshot 19-4 in the half. Concord would tack on there more goals before all was said and done and Wheeling ended up falling to the Mountain Lions 5-0 to drop to 1-5-1 in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play.
Goalkeeper Olivia Kqira had a busy night in net, facing 18 shots and making 13 saves on the night. She finished with a 0.722 save percentage for the game and brought her season save percentage to .782. It was the fifth double digit save effort for Kqira this season and finished five saves short of her season-high, and the program record, 18 saves that she recorded against Frostburg State. She has yet to allow more than three goals in a single half this season and looks to continue that effort in October. The Cardinal's defense has also gotten a boost on the back line as Mary DiFonzo has dropped back into the center back role. She has helped force bad shots throughout the fall for the opposition and can also use her abilities to push the ball up the field.
On the offensive end of the field, the Cardinals were unable to get on the scoreboard last time out, but they have seen an uptick in their offensive effort over the last few weeks. They have seen Medina Doka return to the offensive front and Talynn DeBartolo starting to gain more confidence later. Over their last four games, the team is averaging 2.5 goals per game, and has scored three or more goals twice during that stretch. It was Doka who led the team's biggest scoring effort of the season last Sunday, when she accounted for three of her team's six goals in their 6-3 win over Davis & Elkins. Last time out, it was DeBartolo leading the way, taking three shots, and putting one of those on goal on the night. Doka and DeBartolo each look to lead the offense down the stretch as they try and back strong defensive efforts.
As they enter the final stretch run towards the playoffs, the Cardinals sit just four points behind the fourth and final playoff spot. With eight games now remaining down the stretch, there is still plenty of time for the Cardinals to climb the ladder with 24 points available on the table. Last season, the Cardinals waited until the final game of the regular season to clinch their playoff berth, doing so against rival West Liberty. The Cardinals are four points back of those hilltoppers and with games remaining against all the MEC North teams at the end of the month, the Cardinals will look to fight back and make a late season push to not only make the MEC Tournament but compete for an MEC Championship.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Golden Eagles are meeting for the 26th time in program history, with Charleston leading the all-time series at 16-7-2. The Cardinals have fared better at home against Charleston, going 2-6-2 in 10 all-time meetings compared to a 5-10 mark away from Bishop Schmitt Field. The Cardinals are due to break a string of losing against the Golden Eagles, with Charleston winning each of the last nine contests dating back to September 25th, 2013. There has been one tie during that stretch as the Cardinals look to flip the script on Homecoming.
In their most recent meeting, Charleston would earn the victory over the Cardinals 8-1 in Charleston, West Virginia. The lone goal for the Cardinals came courtesy of Mary DiFonzo, who scored in the game's 74th minute to get the team on the board. Sam Faulkner played 46 minutes in net, making five saves on eight shots faced, while former Cardinal Mikayla Yarwood played the other 43 minutes and made three saves on eight shots faced.
The Details
Kick-off for Saturday evening's game is scheduled for 7:30 PM at Bishop Schmitt Field. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
