INSTITUTE, W.Va. — West Virginia State opened Mountain East Conference play with a 3-1 win over Glenville State on Sunday at Lakin-Ray Field, delivering head coach Jake Edwards his first collegiate victory. Leila Karam scored twice and defender Itzel Nunez added the go-ahead header as the Yellow Jackets improved to 1-2-0 (1-0-0 MEC) and Glenville State fell to 0-3-0 (0-1-0 MEC).

WVSU carried the early play and broke through in the 28th minute (27:54) when Karam found space and tucked home the opener for a 1-0 lead. Glenville State pulled level late in the half after Nunez was booked for a foul in the box; Maddalena Gallon converted the resulting penalty in the 40th minute (39:01), sending the match to halftime at 1-1.

State retook control five minutes after the restart from a corner setpiece. In the 50th minute (49:02), Nagi Higashi's service found Laura Pouedras, who turned and clipped the ball back into the area for Nunez to meet with a decisive header for 2-1. The Jackets' task grew tougher in the 67th when Nunez received a second yellow card for denying a breakaway, reducing WVSU to 10 for the final 23 minutes. Even short-handed, State continued to threaten and earned a penalty in the 77th. Karam's initial effort was saved, but she pounced on the rebound and finished at 76:32 to restore a two-goal cushion and seal the result.

WVSU finished with a 15-7 edge in shots (9-2 on goal) and a 6-1 margin in corners. Goalkeeper Poppy Bastock made one second-half save, while Glenville's Lucia Lopez stopped five. In a physical match, the Yellow Jackets were whistled for 17 fouls and shown five yellow cards along with a red, while Glenville State committed 12 fouls and received three cautions.