INSTITUTE, W.Va. -- The West Virginia State University women's soccer team played its first match under the lights of the newly turfed Lakin-Ray Field at Dickerson Stadium on Wednesday night. The Yellow Jackets trounced the Falcons of Notre Dame (Ohio) by a final score of 4-2.

"Playing at our new permanent home is something we have been looking forward to," head coach Lisa Mann said. "It is an experience that the girls will never forget. We had a great crowd show up and I'm very pleased we put on such a great performance for them to see. The girls played with an intensity that matched the occaision and that intensity helped us win the game."
 
WVSU improves to 9-3-1 overall and 8-2-1 in the Mountain East Conference with the win. West Virginia State's 25 points through 11 games is good enough for second place in the South Division standings.
 
The Yellow Jackets opened the scoring in the fourth minute when forward Fran Soares-Cupertino finished her 10th goal of the season. She took the shot from a wide angle to the left of goal and curled it into the right-side netting after the goalkeeper rushed off her line, 1-0.
 
Waithira took an awkward shot in the 11^th minute that was easily gobbled up by Falcons' netminder Jordan Pasalaqua. After the Waithira shot the stat-sheet went silent as each team traded midfield positioning over the next 12 minutes, occasionally piercing the front line of the defense, then making a cross attempt that the goalkeepers would pick up, or have it stolen by the back line.
 
Brooklyn Pritt broke the stalemate just before halftime when she intercepted an errant pass and charged towards goal. She fired a line drive shot that beat the keeper on the near post and firmly struck the back of the net for the Yellow Jackets' second goal of the evening and Pritt's second of the season. 50 seconds later, the halftime horn would blow at Dickerson Stadium.
 
In the second half, the Falcons opened the scoring with a goal in the 56th minute, 2-1.
 
Forward Karem Rodrigues responded immediately with a goal when she received a pass from Cierra Savin and lobbed a shot over the head of the opposing keeper that was bobbled and ended up crossing the goalline, 3-1.
 
Midfielder Maria Barbosa then scored the fourth goal for West Virginia State in the 61st minute. She collected a ricochet ball in the box and slotted a low shot into the left side of the net, 4-1. Notre Dame scored once more in the 78th minute to give the contest its final score, 4-2.
 
Brooklyn Pritt picked up a caution in the 82^nd minute for time-wasting after the team was warned by the referee previously.

WVSU took 16 shots as a team, with six on target, compared to 10 shots by NDC, with five on goal.
 
Pritt was the biggest offensive threat tonight. She fired four shots at goal and scored on her only shot that found the mark. Waithira added two shots, one on target. Rodrigues took three shots and scored on her only shot on goal. Laura Galindo made three saves and allowed two goals.
 
Notre Dame's Sammy Salatino added a goal to her season total on three shots, as did Kalie Blaising. Pasalaqua made two saves and allowed four goals.
 
The Yellow Jackets travel to Davis & Elkins for a divisional rematch on Sunday, Oct. 24th. The Yellow Jackets defeated the Senators on Sept. 23^rd by a score of 3-2 at the Shawnee Sports Complex. The MEC South matchup is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.