Wheeling, W. Va. - Over the last week, the Wheeling University Women's Soccer team (1-3, 1-1) has been on the road battling through Mountain East Conference (MEC) play. The road trip comes to an end on Saturday when the Cardinals hit the road to face Frostburg State with kick-off at 5:30 PM. After dropping to 1-1 in conference play with a loss to Fairmont State Wednesday, the Cardinals are looking to get back above .500 and grab momentum before heading home.

The Cardinals battled last time out as they went on the road to face their nemesis Fairmont State on Wednesday night. The team got an early penalty call in the second minute that set them up for their first PK opportunity of the season. They would convert it into the first goal of the night and took a 1-0 lead just two minutes into play. Fairmont State had an immediate response in the 11th minute to tie the game, but it was all defense for the rest of the half. Both teams had a hard time navigating the other team's back line, with just one of the 10 shots combined between the two teams going on net. Fairmont State would get on the board in the game's 60th minute, and a quick response by the Cardinals in the 61st minute tied things up. However, it would be the Falcons who would get the last laugh as they scored in the 74th minute and the Cardinals fell 3-2.

For the second game in a row, freshman Lily Hanna would get on the scoresheet, giving the Cardinals the equalizer in the game's 61st minute. She made a move around a pair of Falcon's defenders and found the net for her third goal of the season. She is now tied for the team lead with three goals and leads the club with four points on the season, after picking up her first career assist against Malone. She got the scoring started in the match against Point Park on Sunday as the Cardinals started conference play 1-0 for the first time since 2015 and she has picked up at least one point in every game for the Cardinals this season.

The other Cardinal to get on the scoresheet Wednesday night was Mary DiFonzo, who attempted the team's first Penalty Kick of the season. She got the call inside the box in just the second minute and lined up the shot past the goalkeeper to give Wheeling a 1-0 lead. Like Hanna, DiFonzo also has three goals this season and has been the Cardinal's leading scorer each of the past two seasons. The Cardinals defense has been an asset for the team this season, forcing opponents to make several bad shots throughout the night. In the first half, Fairmont would outshoot Wheeling 7-3, but the defense ensured none of those shots fell on net. Tayler Wells, Krystal Elie, Ainslie Reuben, and Kaitlyn Osorio were able to force bad shots throughout the half and keep their goalkeeper clean.

After hitting the road these past two games, the Cardinals return home for a big week ahead as they welcome friends and family to campus. It starts on Wednesday with a non-conference match against Salem, followed by the Homecoming & Family Weekend matchup with West Liberty on Sunday. After getting a win in their home opener against Point Park, the Cardinals will look to get some momentum on the road before heading home. With the defense playing strong, the Cardinals will look to ride that into their home games as their offense continues to make the most of their opportunities. With just one more non-conference game in the foreseeable future, Wheeling will look to be playing their best soccer heading into the MEC Tournament stretch.

The Details

Kick-off for Saturday night's match is scheduled for 5:30 PM at Bobcat Stadium on the campus of Frostburg State. You can watch the game live by  clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.