INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University women's soccer team competed in its first match as full members of NCAA Division II and the Mountain East Conference on Friday night at the Shawnee Sports Complex. The Yellow Jackets were defeated by the reigning conference champions Concord, 5-0.

"The game today was a great game for us to start with," remarked Head Coach Lisa Mann on the historic occasion. "It allowed us to see the level we need to get to. I thought we competed very well for long periods of the game and I was pleased with the overall performance.

"But Concord is the reigning conference champion for a reason, and they showed their class in moments tonight. Moments we can definitely do better in going forward. We will take a lot of lessons from this game and continue our progression as a team."

WVSU drops to 0-1 in the MEC with the defeat while CU improves to 1-0 in league play with the win.

Junior midfielder Naomi Waithira led the Yellow Jackets with three shots, including one shot on goal. Freshman goalkeeper Christin Walls made eight saves on 22 shots faced.

West Virginia State looked up for the challenge in the first 15 minutes of the game. Fran Soares-Cupertino registered the first shot on target in the second minute which was saved by the opposing goalkeeper. The WVSU forward was then subbed off in the ninth minute after suffering an injury.

The WVSU defense came up with two stops in the 11th and 15th minutes before Concord opened the scoring when a corner kick landed at the feet of Leah Foster and was driven into the bottom right corner of the net in the 16th minute, 1-0.

Goalkeeper Christin Walls put on an impressive display between the first and second goals for the Mountain Lions. She made four saves, including a one-on-one situation, before Foster found the back of the net for the second time off a low cross in the 33rd minute, 2-0.

Foster completed her hat trick in the 43rd minute when she collected the rebound from a shot off the crossbar and slotted it into the goal, 3-0. Megan Maslak got off one more shot on goal for West Virginia State before the end of the half.

The Yellow Jackets were strong in the first 15 minutes of the second half much like how they started the first. An undeniable goal was then scored in the 61st minute by Courtney Smith when she bended a ball from a crossing position into the side netting, 4-0. West Virginia State was steadfast in its defense for the next 26 minutes until a corner kick was converted into a goal in the 87th minute, 5-0. The best scoring opportunity for WVSU came in the 89th minute when Karem Rodrigues broke free but had her shot blocked by the last defender.

Of West Virginia State's nine total shots, five were on target. In comparison, Concord directed 13-of-22 shots at goal.

The Yellow Jackets will travel to Glenville State for their next contest on Friday, March 5th. The match is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.