WHEELING, W.Va. -- Point Park women's soccer opens a two-game road trip to end the regular season on Sunday when it visits Wheeling. Opening kick is scheduled for 2 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT

The Pioneers (10-5-1, 10-3-1 MEC) snapped a two-game losing skid on Wednesday when they took down West Liberty on Senior Night 1-0. Rebecca Pihlgren scored the winning goal in the 10th minute when she redirected a corner kick from Julia Rusiecki into the back of the net. 

Pihlgren led the game with nine shots and five shots on goal. Point Park posted 18 total shots in the game and held a 9-2 advantage in shots on goal over the Hilltoppers. 

BRICK WALL

Goalkeeper Nicole Kuchinski is second in the MEC in goals-against average (0.40) and save percentage (.909). She leads the MEC in shutouts with 10. Her 4.00 saves per game are good for sixth in the league. 

Kuchinski has surrendered just four goals since Sept. 16 - two of which came at Frostburg State. Five of her six goals this season have come on the road, and three have come against ranked opponents (one at Ashland, one at then-No. 23 Fairmont State, and one vs. No. 21 Fairmont State). 

WEEKLY HONORS

Maya Figueroa became the third Pioneer to receive an MEC weekly honor on Oct. 12 when she picked up an MEC Offensive Player of the Week title. Figueroa scored in both of Point Park's games in the week, including her game-winning tally at Charleston. 

Point Park has received four MEC weekly honors on the season, with Rebecca Pihlgren being named MEC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 7 and Nicole Kuchinski earning back-to-back MEC Defensive Player of the Week crowns on Sept. 21 and 28. 

THE ROAD AHEAD

Point Park currently is third in the MEC North Division with 31 points - 4 behind second-place Frostburg State. The Pioneers have clinched a spot in the MEC Tournament, with the top four teams in each division qualifying, and the top two seeds in each division hosting the opening round.

A win for Frostburg State in any of its two remaining matches would secure a top-two finish for the Bobcats. Point Park will need to achieve a better result than Frostburg State does in each of the teams' next games. 

WELCOME TO MOE'S!

Nicole Kuchinski was named the Moe's Southwest Grill Pioneer Women's Athlete of the Month on Monday. Kuchinski earned back-to-back MEC Defensive Player of the Week titles on Sept. 21 and 28, and the senior goalkeeper allowed only two goals over the last month. 

PIHLGREN POWER

Rebecca Pihlgren leads the team with her 5 goals, 13 points and three assists. Pihlgren is tied for ninth in the MEC in assists and 10th in goals.

Pihlgren sits in second place in the league in shots on goal (27) in the MEC and her 3.80 shots per game lead the MEC. Three of her goals have been game winners, which ties her for second in the MEC. Her teammates Eliya Adjo and Maya Figueroa are tied for eighth with two apiece.

SHARE THE WEALTH

Point Park has won 10 of its 14 conference games with a goal differential of 15-5. The Pioneers have featured nine different goalscorers over this stretch, with Rebecca Pihlgren scoring five goals, including a brace against Wheeling, Charisma Arteaga and Becca Simpkins both scoring against West Liberty and Reece Frank recording the lone tally in the win over Davis & Elkins. Eliya Adjo scored in back-to-back games against Glenville State and West Virginia State, a game in which Isabelle Meier also scored.

Meea Irwin and Maria Gomez both dented the twine at Shawnee State, and Maya Figueroa scored in the team's last two matches against West Virginia Wesleyan and Charleston. 

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS

Wheeling (1-13-2, 1-11-2 MEC) enters on a two-game losing streak of its own, having dropped consecutive matches to Fairmont State and Frostburg State. WU's lone MEC win came in a 3-0 effort over Shawnee State on Oct. 7. 

Jeanery Diaz leads the Cardinals with her four goals and 9 points. Her 29 shots and 12 shots on goal are both the best on the squad. Katelyn MacInnis has played the most matches for Wheeling in net with seven games and six starts - including the team's last three matches. MacInnis holds a goals-against average of 3.83 and a .596 save percentage this season.

The Pioneers downed Wheeling 2-0 back on Sept. 6 at F.N.B. Stadium. Rebecca Pihlgren scored two goals in 90 seconds in the final 10 minutes to lift PPU to its first win of the season. The Pioneers outshot the Cardinals 20-9 in the match, including a 12-4 edge in shots on goal.

PRESEASON POLL

Point Park was picked to place fourth in the Mountain East Conference North Division in the MEC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll. The Pioneers returned 19 players from the 2025 season, in which they qualified for the MEC Tournament, including the aforementioned Rebecca Pihlgren who was named 2025 MEC Freshman of the Year and First Team All-MEC.