WHEELING, W.Va. (Oct. 10) - The No. 25 Wheeling Jesuit men's soccer team was never in doubt on their way to their fourth-consecutive victory; a 4-0 win against Shepherd on Wednesday evening at Bishop Schmitt Field.
The Cardinals, ranked No. 25 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches poll, moved to 8-2-2 overall and 7-2 in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) standings with the win. The Rams fell to 1-12 overall and 0-10 in the MEC with the loss.
The Cardinals shot 25 times before the match was over, including 12 shots on goal. Junior
Teavon Spencer (Orlando, Fla./Evans) scored a hat trick to light up the scoreboard, while senior
Martin Minuzzi (Cordoba, Argentina/Nazareth) scored another one of his signature goals to bring his season tally to eight. Freshmen
Pedro Crespo (Madrid, Spain/Colegio Santa Maria) and
Dylan Schraffenberger (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) made contributions with one assist each.
The Rams shot a total of seven times and had their best opportunity to score when they were awarded a free-kick just outside the 18-yard box. Abdelrahman Elmasry attempted the free kick and Kyle Sankey took a shot off the rebound. Both shots were blocked by the WJU defensive wall to maintain the clean sheet.
Wheeling Jesuit scored three of its four goals before halftime. Spencer opened the scoring in the 12th-minute with a header from close range. Minuzzi scored two minutes later with a direct free-kick from 25-yards out that curled into the left side of the goal. Schraffenberger provided the through ball that led to Spencer's second goal in the 38th-minute, a low strike that beat the outstretched keeper.
The second half provided the opportunity for Spencer to complete his hat trick. Crespo took a shot that bounced off the gloves of the opposing goalkeeper and Spencer finished it for a true poacher's goal.
Freshman goalkeeper Johnathan Bosmyr (Joenkoeping, Sweden/Erik Dahlbergs) made three saves in net to pick up his second shutout of the season.
The Cardinals hit the road on Sunday, October 14 to take on an unbeaten Charleston side in an important conference matchup. Kick-off is set for 4 p.m.
