Wheeling, W. Va. - Throughout the season, the Wheeling University Women's Soccer team (3-8-4, 1-6-4) has been fighting for a chance to avenge their first round loss in last year's Mountain East Conference (MEC) Tournament. On Wednesday, they will get a chance to get back into the postseason when they travel to Frostburg State with kick-off at 7:30 PM. The Cardinals can officially clinch the #4 seed in the MEC North standings with a win over the Bobcats and a West Liberty loss to Point Park.
The Cardinals would hit the road last time out as they battled MEC North leading Fairmont State. The Falcons would control the time of possession throughout the contest, and outshot Wheeling 18-2 over the first 45 minutes of play. The Cardinals would concede their first goal in the 13th minute, but were able to stand strong, making eight saves before heading into the locker room. The Cardinals were able to get two offensive chances of their own, but were unable to find the back of the net and headed into the locker room trailing 1-0. The Cardinal defense had to continue playing on their heels throughout the second half, and Fairmont State was able to open the game up a little bit. They would put the ball in the back of the net three times in the half, and the Cardinals would end up falling 4-0 to round out the day.
Leading the Cardinals through the early portion of the game was Deetya Satyal, who made double digit saves for the second time this season. She would end up making 10 saves on 12 shots faced as she held her own against an armada of shots from the Falcons. Of those 10 saves, seven of those came in the first half as she finished with a .833 save percentage on the day. It raised her season save percentage to .800 on the season, making 32 saves on 40 shots faced this season. She stepped in during a time of need for the Cardinals as they faced several injuries during the season. She looks to continue her strong play over the final three regular season games as she hopes to lead the team into the postseason.
The Cardinals took one shot on goal in the effort and it came early courtesy of Maira Alevato. It was her 19th shot of the season, tying her for the team lead with teammate Graceylyn Hanna, as Alevato has played a heightened role on the offensive side of the ball. She has already set her career-high with two goals this season, and the Cardinals have picked up at least one conference point in every game that Alevato has scored. The Cardinal's leading shot taker this season has been Rosie Caley, who leads the team in shots (29), shots on goal (14), and goals (3) in her freshman campaign. She tied her season high with four shots in the effort against Salem on Wednesday and will look to take advantage of her opportunities on Wednesday night.
As they enter Wednesday night's game, the Cardinals magic number to clinch an MEC Tournament berth sits at two. The Cardinals hold a four-point lead over West Liberty entering the final week of the season, and can officially clinch their spot with a win on Wednesday and a loss by West Liberty. The Hilltoppers will play Point Park in a morning match-up at 11 AM, so the Cardinals are hoping for a Point Park win to give them a chance to clinch a spot in the tournament in the evening. If the Cardinals clinch the #4 seed in the tournament, they will be making back-to-back trips to the MEC Women's Soccer Tournament for the first time in program history. The Cardinals are sitting at 1-2-2 against MEC North opponents this season, with two of those ties coming at the hands of top seeded Fairmont State and Frostburg State. The Cardinals look to get momentum over their final three games and carry that with them into the tournament.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Bobcats are meeting for the 13th time in program history, with Frostburg State leading the all-time series at 9-1-2. Wheeling will be looking for their first win at Frostburg State in program history, where they are 0-5 in five previous meetings. Wheeling has totaled eight goals in the first 12 match-ups with the Bobcats, but they were able to break a four-game losing streak last time out, and will be looking for their first win against Frostburg State since the 2020 season.
The first meeting of the year between the two teams was back on September 21st, 2025, in a game that the Cardinals would tie 1-1. Leading the way for the Cardinals was Caryn Goins, who finished with the team's lone goal of the day, while putting all three of her shots on net. Sam Faulkner would get the start in net, making 10 saves on 11 shots faced, while Graceylyn Hanna rounded out the scoresheet with an assist.
The Details
Kick-off for Wednesday night's game is scheduled for 7:30 PM inside Bobcat Stadium on the campus of Frostburg State University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE and follow along with live stats by clicking HERE.
