WEST LIBERTY— The West Virginia Wesleyan Lady Bobcats earned a hard-fought 2–1 road victory over West Liberty on Sunday afternoon at the West Family Complex, powered by first-half and early second-half goals from Isabella Pinczel and Paloma Zamora.
The Lady Bobcats dictated possession throughout much of the opening 45 minutes, controlling tempo through midfielders Ava Badallo and Ashley McGee while limiting West Liberty’s chances. Their breakthrough came in the 32nd minute, when Pinczel found the back of the net off an assist from Tessa Grisez, giving Wesleyan a 1–0 lead.
Keeper Maite Coutinho was steady in net, turning aside a key shot by Maya Taggart in the 22nd minute to preserve the advantage at halftime.
Wesleyan wasted little time adding to its margin after intermission. In the 48th minute, Paloma Zamora capitalized on a defensive miscue to finish from close range, doubling the Lady Bobcat lead to 2–0. The goal energized Wesleyan’s attack, which generated four corner kicks in the second half and peppered the Hilltopper defense with six shots over the final 45 minutes.
West Liberty broke through in the 55th minute, as Perla Bäckberg scored off a feed from Holly Brighton to cut the deficit to one. Despite the shift in momentum, the Lady Bobcat back line—anchored by Natalie Carlock, Katya Enriquez, and Carlie Ice—kept its composure, stifling multiple late pushes by the Hilltoppers. Coutinho added her second save of the afternoon in the 85th minute to seal the result.
The win lifts the Lady Bobcats to 4–4–1 overall (2–4–0 MEC), while the Hilltoppers fall to 1–8–0 (0–6–0 MEC).
Wesleyan goes on the road for a matchup against Fairmont State University Wednesday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m.
