By james art 
Wheeling, W.Va—After suffering a Mountain East Conference (MEC) loss to Frostburg State last Wednesday, Wheeling Women’s Soccer (4-11-1) (3-9-1) will travel to Salem, WV to faced the Tigers in a non-conference matchup hoping to snap a two-game skid.
The Cardinals faced the Bobcats for the second and final time in the regular season. Frostburg State wasted little time getting the offense going. Jaime Soy got on the scoreboard first in the 13th minute. Then, in the 17th minute, FSU capitalized on a ricochet in the box to go up by two. The two teams battled for possession down the field, but the Bobcats found the net again late in the first half to make it 3-0.
The Bobcats picked up right where they left off to start the second half. They got hold of the ball and in the 53rd minute Carly Gillette extended the lead to four. Despite the deficit, the Cardinals played much better in the second half, led by the play of Mary Difonzo. After being denied by Frostburg’s Katie Stern, DiFonzo broke through and robbed her of a goal in the 63rd minute. Wheeling fought hard the rest of the game, but ultimately fell short to the Bobcats 4-1.
The coincidence
The Cardinals and Tigers met earlier this season in September and saw Wheeling dominate their opponent 6-0 at Bishop Schmitt Field. in this game Mary Difonzo then began to mark Lily Hannaand then DiFonzo got back on the board again to end the first half. Gracelyn Hannah, Talin DeBartoloand Not Smith scored one goal each in the second half. The Cardinals outshot the Tigers 50 to 29, requiring an effort from SU goalkeeper Sara Cabrera.
The Cardinals have defeated the Tigers in all 13 meetings between the two schools. Salem will be looking for not only its first win against Wheeling, but its first win of the season in its final home game.
The details
The Wheeling women’s soccer team will play the Salem Tigers on Sunday, November 3rd at 4:00 p.m. Live stats for the contest can be viewed HERE.