Wheeling, W. Va. – Throughout the summer, Wheeling University’s Student-Athletes have different training routines to keep them sharp for the season. This summer, Wheeling University Women’s Soccer player Samantha Faulkner is taking her game to the next level, signing with the Erie Football Club (FC) of the Women’s Premiere Soccer League (WPSL). They play an eight-game schedule, running from this past Sunday through July 8th, playing against some of the best collegiate, post collegiate, and international players in the country.
The Erie FC play as part of the Women’s Premiere Soccer League (WPSL), a pinnacle platform for advancing player development in the United States at the amateur level. It serves as the largest Women’s Soccer League in the world, hosting teams in 31 of the 50 states. The Erie FC are hosted in Faulkner’s hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania as the freshman plays close to Erie McDowell High School, where she spent the four years before joining the Cardinals in the fall of 2022. In their first game of the year, Erie FC fell to Rochester RNY FC 4-1 and looks to bounce back in their second match of the season. Faulkner is one of two goalkeepers on the squad and will split time with Westminster Goalkeeper Morgan Murphy.
Throughout the 2022 season, Faulkner saw a significant amount of time in net, splitting reps with Mikayla Yarwood. Faulkner would appear in nine games for the Cardinals, making one start, while boasting a .676 save percentage and coming up with 23 saves on the season. She had a goal against average of 4.13 and played a big role in the team’s first-ever run to the Mountain East Conference (MEC) tournament. One of her biggest efforts of the season came down the stretch as the team faced #1 seeded Frostburg State on Homecoming & Family weekend. Faulkner came in at halftime of that game and faced 12 shots, six on net, against one of the highest scoring offenses in the conference. She came through, saving all six shots and helping Wheeling secure a 2-2 tie against the top seed.
Faulkner and the Erie FC team return to action on Saturday, May 27th, when they take on the Cleveland Ambassadors at 7 PM.