Wheeling, W. Va. – After a big weekend win on the road, the Wheeling University Women's Soccer team (3-7, 2-5) returned home Wednesday night looking to keep that momentum going. They played host to Mountain East Conference (MEC) South opponent Concord and fell on the night 6-0. Concord put together an early offensive attack, and the Cardinals couldn't find the back of the net in the game.
The Concord offense came out fast and furious, sending a shot off target just 30 seconds into the game. A minute and a half later, the Mountain Lions were on the board as Alisa Swinburn found the back of the net to make it a 1-0 Mountain Lion advantage. Wheeling's first scoring chance would come a minute later as a foul set up a Cardinal free kick.
Mary DiFonzo sent the ball towards net and
Krystal Elie nearly headed the ball to the back of the net, but a save kept the Cardinals off the board. Wheeling would take three more shots over the first 10 minutes, with DiFonzo putting two on net, but the Cardinals remained behind 1-0. The Wheeling defense held strong during the first 25 minutes of play with
Ainslie Reuben leading the charge forcing bad shots.
However, in the 26th minute, the Mountain Lions were back on the board as Caitlin Webster found the net and Concord led 2-0. It would take them just one more minute to add their third goal of the night as Sydney Tucker made it a 3-0 game. Wheeling would get just one more shot off in the half, as DiFonzo sent one off target, and the Cardinals went into the locker room trailing 3-0. Both offenses had their fair share of opportunities, with Concord holding the shot advantage in the half and 10-6. The Cardinals would put three of those six shots on net, while Concord was 6-10 on shots on goal in the half. Wheeling came out in the second half looking to get their opportunities and create scoring opportunities.
Both teams once again came out with energy in the second half, with both placing shots on net in the first five minutes. The Cardinal would get two shots on goal early in the half, courtesy of DiFonzo and
Lily Hanna. In the 56th minute, Concord would add their fourth goal of the night as Sydney Tucker got on the board for the second of three goals. She would finish with a hat trick, scoring the 5th goal of the night in the 83rd minute and they would add one more in the 87th minute to bring the game to its final score of 6-0. Wheeling was outshot 13-6 in the second half as they fell to 2-5 in conference play.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was
Lily Hanna, who finished with six shots, putting four of those on night. Hanna was part of the onslaught of Cardinal shots early on and continues to be a force on offense for the team.
Mary DiFonzo would add five shots, three on goal, while the other shot came courtesy of
Krystal Elie.
Olivia Kqira got the start in net for the Cardinals and made eight saves on the night.
The Wheeling University Women's Soccer team returns to action on Sunday, October 13th, when they hit the road to face Charleston at 1 PM.
