The Basics
Fairmont State soccer team continues its Mountain East Conference stretch with a road game at Concord on Wednesday (Sept. 27) at 1 p.m. before returning to Duvall-Rosier Field for a game versus West Virginia State on Sunday (Oct. 1) at 1 p.m. The team will recognize four seniors in Sunday's game and celebrate Senior Day.
 
Fighting Falcons Facts

• The Falcons enter this week with a record of 3-3-1 and a 2-2 MEC mark. Fairmont State won its first two conference duals versus West Liberty and Wheeling before falling to Notre Dame (Ohio) and Frostburg State.
• The 2023 senior class includes four players: Gracie Smith, Kiera Kuzinski, Riley Miara and Ava Behr. In the past four years, the seniors have helped the Falcons win 28 games and played a major role in capturing the program's first MEC Tournament Championship in 2022.
• Smith has appeared in 57 total games and has made 36 starts for the Falcons. The Ripley, W.Va. native has scored a pair of goals, including a game-winner in the spring of 2021. The defender has played in over 3,800 minutes.
• Kuzinski, a forward from Davison, Mich., has earned All-Region accolades twice in her career and has totaled 34 goals donning the Maroon & White. Kuzinski has scored 11 game-winners and has racked up 73 points.
• A native of Wexford, Pa., Miara has appeared in 37 games and has made 21 starts for Fairmont State soccer. She has tallied a goal and an assist and is a mainstay of the Fairmont State defense, logging over 2,000 minutes of game time.
• Behr has made 16 career starts and scored her first collegiate goal versus West Liberty on a penalty kick this season. The product of Sidney, Ohio has accumulated 1,634 minutes of playing time in her career at Fairmont State.
• As a team, Fairmont State ranks second in save percentage (0.842) and shutout percentage (0.571).
• Freshman goalkeeper Olivia Johnston ranks third in the conference with a 0.673 goals against average. Johnston was voted MEC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 11 after recording a clean sheet versus West Liberty. Johnston has recorded four clean sheets in her first collegiate season.
• Behr scored a penalty kick goal versus West Liberty to push the Falcons to a 1-0 win.
• Newcomers Lauren Dye, Kylee Kosek and Isabella Maldonado all have scored one goal for Fairmont State.
• Gianna Baldino has started all seven games for the Falcons and has provided support as the team's center back. Baldino is a freshman from Galloway, N.J.
• Delaney Haller made her first start in goal versus Frostburg State and made five saves. Haller is also a member of the Fairmont State softball team.
• Kernell Borneo leads the Fairmont State women's soccer program and is in his third season spearheading the team.

Scouting Concord
Concord will face the Falcons with a 3-2-1 record after cruising to a 6-0 victory at home versus Glenville State on Sunday. The Mountain Lions have defeated West Virginia State and Davis & Elkins while falling to No. 13 Charleston and No. 19 Kutztown. Concord played to a draw versus Gannon in Erie, Pa. to open the season.
 
Michelle Brogden sits second in the MEC leaderboard with a 1.67 points per game average. The graduate student from North Shields, England has racked up three goals and five assists to lead the Mountain Lions. Sydney Tucker and Caitlin Webster have also scored three goals each. Sarah Pattillo has started four games in goal for CU and maintains a 3-1-0 record, while Kayla Garza has made a pair of starts and is 0-1-1.
 
Luke Duffy is the head coach of Concord women's soccer. The Mountain Lions captured the 2021 Atlantic Regional Championship and advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the first time in program history.
 
Scouting West Virginia State
The Yellow Jackets earned a tie at nationally-ranked Charleston on Sunday after the equalizer was scored by Ammy Mwasambu in the 81^st minute. WVSU begins this week with a 3-3-1 record and will play at home versus Wheeling on Wednesday before traveling to Fairmont.
 
Mwasambu has scored four goals this season, which is the third-highest total in the MEC. Esther Dhiramo has netted a trio of goals while Sandra Linares has found the back of the net twice this season. 'Keeper Laura Galindo has started all seven games in goal for WVSU and has made 23 saves to go along with a 0.719 save percentage.
 
A familiar face to Fairmont State fans leads the WVSU women's soccer program: Brandon Slewa. Slewa was an assistant coach on the 2022 MEC Tournament Championship team and is in his first season as a head coach.
 
Up Next
Fairmont State will host West Virginia Wesleyan on Oct. 4 at Duvall-Rosier Field at 7 p.m.