Wheeling, W. Va. - The conference schedule rolls on for the Wheeling University Women's Soccer team (0-3, 0-1) as they begin their annual "The Battle for Wheeling" series against West Liberty, with kick-off at 7 PM. The Cardinals are looking for their first Mountain East Conference (MEC) win of the season as they continue through their early-season MEC North Schedule.
Last time out, the Cardinals made the trip to Highmark Stadium, the home of Point Park Women's Soccer, as they officially kicked off their MEC schedule. Early on, the Cardinals took it to the Pioneers, getting off the first three shots of the game, and putting two of those on net. However, they weren't able to break through and the Cardinal defense would have to step up. Wheeling's defense would hold the Pioneers to just two shots in the first half, but went into the locker room with the score sitting tied at 0-0. Just 20 seconds into the new half, Point Park would tally the first goal of the day and were aggressive through the first 15 minutes. Point Park would register one more goal in the 64th minute and, despite taking two more shots on net over the final 25 minutes, Wheeling was not able to get on the board as they fell 2-0.
Sam Faulkner and the Cardinal defense continued their strong play at Point Park, with Faulkner finishing with three saves on five shots faced. Faulkner is off to one of the best starts of her career through two games, saving seven of the 10 shots she has faced for a .700 save percentage. She has a Goals Against Average (GAA) of 1.50 and sits fifth in the conference behind West Virginia Wesleyan's Maite Coutinho, who sits at 1.00 GAA. She has conceded the fourth fewest goals in the conference this season, sitting three behind Fairmont State's Olivia Johnston for the conference lead. Faulkner looks to continue her strong defensive effort as the Cardinals continue through the 2025 conference schedule.
In front of Faulkner, the Cardinal backline had a strong game, led by center back Caryn Goins. Goins and the rest of the defense held the Pioneers to just eight shots on the day, five of those going on goal, while also getting involved in the offense herself. Goins took one shot on the day, putting it on net, and looks to continue her success down the stretch. Leading the offense for the second straight day was Kaitlyn Osorio, who led the effort with two shots, putting one of those on net. Osorio scored the Cardinal's first goal of the season against Lourdes on Sunday, and has been a steady presence for the team both in the midfield and on offense this season.
As Wheeling continues its MEC North stretch, the Cardinals will have the luxury of playing at home early. After Wednesday's road contest, the Cardinals will be at home for three of their next five conference games, including two straight MEC North opponents at Bishop Schmitt Field. Wheeling played well on the road last season, going 3-7-1 away from Bishop Schmitt Field, and look to gain some momentum on the road on Wednesday night. With the heart of their conference schedule coming up to close out September and welcome in October, the Cardinals are looking to make a push for the top four spots in the division and get back to the MEC Tournament in 2025.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Hilltoppers are meeting for the 26th time in program history, with West Liberty leading the all-time series at 16-7-2. Wheeling is looking to break a four-match winless streak against West Liberty, dating back to the 2022 season, and they have scored just one goal in three of the last four meetings. The Cardinals are 2-8-2 on the hilltop and will look to swing the momentum their way on Wednesday.
Their last meeting came on November 6th, 2024, in a game that West Liberty would take 2-1 on the hilltop. Wheeling was led by Nyah Smith, who finished with the lone goal on the day while putting the only shot she took on net. Lily Hanna would lead the offensive push, taking three shots and putting one on net, while former Cardinal Olivia Kqira made six saves on eight shots faced.
The Details
Kick-off for Wednesday night's game is scheduled for 7 PM inside the West Family Athletic Complex on the campus of West Liberty University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
