INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University women's soccer team (9-0-1, 7-0-1 MEC) will host West Liberty (4-4-1, 3-3-1 MEC) on Wednesday, Oct. 5 and Alderson Broaddus (0-6-3, 0-6-2 MEC) on Sunday, Oct. 9 this week. Both matches are scheduled for 6 p.m. starts.

The Buzz at State

WVSU is undefeated through 10 games this season and have won every match except a 1-1 draw to Concord two weeks ago. The Yellow Jackets have also allowed one goal or less in every contest played so far except for in a 9-3 thrashing of D&E. Last week, State shutout Glenville, 6-0, before beating Wheeling convincingly, 4-1. The one goal allowed against Wheeling was the result of a penalty kick taken in the 77th minute.

WVSU is not short of goals with the No. 3 ranked scoring offense in all of NCAA Division II. The Yellow average 3.70 goals per game and have found the back of the net a total of 37 times this season. Forward Fran Soares-Cupertino is currently second to only Colorado Mesa's Lila Dere with 14 goals scored to her 15 on the season. Soares-Cupertino currently leads the nation in points with 34 which is determined by giving two points for each goal and one for each assist.

Rankings Update

The Yellow Jackets have been receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches National Poll for the last three weeks. They are now one spot away from breaking into the Top 25 for the first time in school history.

This week, State moved up from fourth place to third place in the United Soccer Coaches Atlantic Region rankings. West Chester and Frostburg State are ahead of WVSU in the regional rankings as the only two teams left in the country to not have lost or tied any matches this season.

Scouting the Hilltoppers 

West Liberty sits in fourth place in the MEC North Division standings with 10 points going into the week. The Hilltoppers are one spot below Wheeling, which State had no issues with this past Sunday, in the divisional standings. WLU struggles to find the back of the net with only 10 goals in nine games, but defends relatively well with only 13 goals allowed thus far.

The Hilltoppers' lackluster attack is led by their No. 9 Amelia Compston. She is one of two players with more than ten shots taken this year. The other player is goalless. Compston's two goals and two assists are both tied for best on the squad. Despite West Liberty's lack of starpower, the Hilltoppers are not to be taken lightly as they upset Charleston, 2-1, this past Saturday with two second half goals.

Scouting the Battlers

Alderson Broaddus has yet to win a game this season, but managed two draws against Lake Erie and Fairmont State. The Battlers have only scored nine times in nine games while letting in 20 goals to average more than two goals against per game. They do not threaten often with their 32 shots on goal being the lowest total in the MEC.

Forward Alieza Vargas Deason, midfielder Jacqueline Garcia, and defender Morgan Griffith each have two goals apiece to lead the Battlers. AB's goalkeeper Olivia Kqira is battle-tested with 223 shots faced this year. She's withstood the battering well by making a league-leading 83 saves and recording a .806 save percentage which is fourth-best in the conference.