WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. (Sept. 27) - The Wheeling Jesuit University men's soccer team came away with a 1-0 victory over West Liberty to bolster their standing in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) on a rainy, overcast Thursday afternoon.

The Cardinals move to 5-2-2 overall and 4-2 in conference play. Meanwhile, the Hilltoppers fall to 2-6 overall, 2-5 in the MEC this season.

After a scoreless 74 minutes of play, freshman midfielder Javier Mangado (La Rioja, Spain/Ies Praxedes Mateo Sagsta) became the unlikely hero for WJU when he scored the first goal of his collegiate career in the 75th minute. The goal held up as the game winner to help the Cardinals earn three points and stay within one point of Urbana for third place in the MEC standings. 

Although WJU attempted three shots and earned two corners in the first half, senior Martin Minuzzi's (Cordoba, Argentina/Nazareth) shot in the 18th-minute was the only attempt that required a save by the opposing goalkeeper. WJU found itself in the opposing half much more often in the second half, taking seven shots before time ran out. Only one of those shots hit their target and ended up being the game-winning goal.

Sophomore goalkeeper Josh Zimmerman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Franklin Regional) was only tested twice on eight total shots and earned his second clean sheet of the season.

The Hilltoppers played even with the Cardinals in the first half, but racked up 10 fouls and were shown two yellow cards in the second half.

WJU's next contest will take place on Saturday, September 29th when the Cardinals head to Buckhannon to take on West Virginia Wesleyan at 7 p.m.