Wheeling, W. Va. – It all came down to the final game of the season for the Wheeling University Women's Soccer team (3-11-4, 1-9-4) as they welcomed in West Liberty in "The Battle for Wheeling." The Cardinals needed a win, a tie, or to lose by one goal to clinch a spot in the 2025 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Tournament, but they would fall 2-0 to end the night. With the loss, West Liberty earned the #4 seed in the MEC North by taking the goal differential tie breaker from the Cardinals.

As the game kicked off, Wheeling would control the time of possession, keeping the ball in the offensive zone for the first 10 minutes. In the 9^th minute Wheeling would get their first shot as Graceylyn Hanna tried to split the legs of the goalkeeper. Just over a minute later, it was Talia Salvador's turn to get in on the action and she tried a similar tactic. Both attempts were thwarted by Hilltoppers goalkeeper Cianna Butera and the game remained tied at 0-0. Following the second shot, West Liberty would come down the field and Perla Backberg would take the first Hilltopper shot of the night. Akyla Walcott would come through with the save to keep West Liberty off the board. The Cardinals outshot West Liberty 4-1 over the first 20 minutes of play, and would put two of those shots on net.

As the 20-minute mark ticked by, the ball would bounce around the midfield. West Liberty would come out with possession and in the 32^nd minute they would put their second shot of the day on net. This time it was Marissa Knouff taking the shot and once again Walcott was there to make the save. The final Hilltopper shot of the half would come in The 36^th minute, but would end up sailing wide right. Wheeling would put together one more scoring opportunity before the Half let out, capitalizing on a West Liberty foul. Jeannery Diaz would once again try to split the posts, but Butera would make her third save of the half. The team would  head into the locker room with the score sitting tied at 0-0, while the Cardinals were winning the shot advantage. They outshot the Hilltoppers 6-3 in the half, while putting three shots on net compared to two for the Hilltoppers

Wheeling would continue to take their shots early in the second half, needing just seven minutes for their first shot opportunity. It would come following a West Liberty foul as Caryn Goins Sset up for the free kick. She would send it towards the center of the net but Butera kept her first half success going with the save. Salvador and Mikayla Young would each add shots over the next 10 minutes but both would end up sailing wide of the net. In the 64^th minute, The scoreless tie would finally be broken as Abigail Barki brought the ball up the field. She would send a pass to teammate Backberg, who finished the play with the first Hilltopper goal of the night. West Liberty was staked to A 1-0 lead, And the Cardinals would have to hold them off the board for the final 27 minutes of play.

Hanna would take back-to-back shots in the 68 and 71^st minutes, with the second of those shots going on net. She tried to sneak it under the crossbar, but Butera would make the save once again to keep it a 1-0 game. After back-to-back, Cardinal fouls, West Liberty brought the ball into their offensive zone as Frida Lundberg made her way downfield. She sent a cross to teammate Leah Paugh and she would get it to the back of the net to give West Liberty a 2-0 lead. Wheeling needed to get one goal back and nearly did in the 77^th minute. After Lily Hanna sent a shot that sailed right of the net, Goins would come back 27 seconds later and nearly cleared Butera's head. However, It would end up hitting off the crossbar and Wheeling remained down by two goals. It would end up being the final Wheeling shot of the night as they fell 2-0 and were officially eliminated from playoff contention.

Leading the effort for the Cardinals was Graceylyn Hanna, who finished with four shots, putting two of those on net. It was a career high in shots for the junior as she rounded out her season strong. Caryn Goins and Talia Salvador would each take two shots and put one on net, while Jeanery Diaz and Jersey Scyoc each put shots on net to round out the offensive effort. In net, Akyla Walcott got the start and made Three saves on five shots faced on the night. The Cardinals would outshoot West Liberty 13-8, and just missed heading to the MEC Tournament for the second straight season.

 The Wheeling University Women's Soccer team now heads into the off-season as they look forward to continued growth in 2026.