Wheeling, W. Va. - Over their past two games, the Wheeling University Women's Soccer team (1-3-1, 1-1-1) has collected four crucial points in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) North Divisional Race. On Wednesday, the Cardinals will step out of conference play for a day, but they look to continue racking up points as they continue down the stretch. Wheeling will travel to Bridgeport, West Virginia, where they will take on Salem in the first of two non-conference games with kick-off scheduled for 12:30 PM.

Last time out, the Cardinals continued their run of MEC North play when they welcomed in Frostburg State to Bishop Schmitt Field. Frostburg State would hold the shot advantage throughout the match, but the Cardinal defense played a bend-don't-break game. Wheeling conceded their first goal in the 19^th minute, but the Cardinals responded with a goal of their own just three minutes later and the game sat tied at 1-1 with 23 minutes to go before the half. The Bobcats took 15 shots in the half, but only three of those landed on net and the teams went into halftime with the score still sitting at 1-1. In the second half, Frostburg State kept coming, ripping off 15 more shot towards net. This time, six of those shots landed on net, but the Cardinal goalkeepers came through and as the final whistle blew, the Cardinals were able to maintain their 1-1 score to earn the tie.

The tie would not have been possible without the work in net by senior Sam Faulkner, who moved her record on the season to 1-2-1. She would make 10 saves on 11 shots faced, with six of those 10 saves coming during the crucial second half of the game. The Bobcats came out aggressively early, taking back-to-back shots in the 47^th  minute, but Faulkner weathered the storm with a pair of saves. As the half went on, Faulkner would make key saves in both the 62^nd minute and the 78^th minute and kept the Bobcats offense at bay. With the effort, she remained top five in the conference with a 1.014 Goals Against Average (4^th), .840 save percentage (3^rd), and 21 saves (5^th). Faulkner looks to continue to be a leader on the defensive side as the Cardinals continue down the stretch.

In the final minutes of play, Faulkner would leave due to injury and Akyla Walcott would come in off the bench. Walcott would have to face one final shot in the game's final minute, and would come through as she got in front of the free kick to keep the game tied. It was Walcott's second appearance for the Cardinals, and she holds a .700 save percentage through those first two games. She looks to step up for the Cardinals and keep them in the game down the stretch. On the offensive side, it was defender Caryn Goins who got the Cardinals on the board as she moved up to Forward. Her goal would come in the 22^nd minute as she took a cross from Gracelynn Hanna and found the bottom left corner of the net. It was the first collegiate goal for Goins and helped the Cardinals secure the point in the tie.

In the early portion of the season, the Cardinals have handled the road well, going 1-2 in their first three games. They have scored at least one goal in two of those three games, with the win coming in the final seconds against West Liberty. They play two of their next three games away from Bishop Schmitt Field and will look to continue that success as they end September and start October on the road. This season, they have held opponents to 1.00 goals per game, putting them third in the MEC in opponent scoring average. They sit just .075 behind Fairmont State and .20 behind Point Park for the conference lead in opponent scoring average. The defense looks to continue to hold opponents at bay throughout the season as they set themselves up for a postseason run.

The Matchup

The Cardinals and Tigers are meeting for the 15^th time in program history on Wednesday, with Wheeling leading the all-time series at 14-0. It will be the team's seventh trip to Salem, where they have gone 6-0 in those six previous meetings. The Cardinals are averaging 7.29 goals per game in the all-time series and have scored five or more goals in each of the last nine meetings between the two teams.

Their last meeting came on November 3^rd, 2024, in a game that the Cardinals won 6-0 in Bridgeport, West Virginia. Leading the way for  Wheeling was former Cardinal Mary DiFonzo, who finished with one goal while taking six shots, putting four of those on net. Former Cardinal Talynn DeBartolo added two goals, while taking three shots and putting two on goal, while Lily Hanna, Maira Alevato, and former Cardinal Olivia Hoban each added goals on the day.

The Details

Kick-off for Wednesday's game is scheduled for 12:30 PM inside The Bridge Sports Complex. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.