Box Score Charleston, W. Va. – The Wheeling University Men's Soccer team (3-5, 2-4) went on the road on Sunday to face the University of Charleston. It was the first of back-to-back games against the top two teams in the Mountain East Conference (MEC), and although they fought hard, they fell to the Golden Eagles 3-1.

Throughout the first half, the two teams battled back and forth, as Wheeling kept The University of Charleston on their toes. However, in the eighth minute of the game, The University of Charleston would get on the board as Luis Maestre scored in the upper left corner of the net to give the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead. It was one of 10 shots that the Golden Eagles got off in the first half as they outshot the Cardinals 10-2 in the first half. However, one of those two shots found the net as Hugo Rodriguez tied the game up with his second goal of the year that made the score 1-1. They went into halftime with that same 1-1 score.

Wheeling got off just two shots in that first half, and they were looking for more opportunities in the second half.
The real star of the first half of the game was Wheeling goalkeeper Harry Firth. Firth allowed just one goal during that first half and made three saves on the four shots he took on goal. The Golden Eagles had a couple of scoring opportunities during that first half, but he stopped them in their tracks and kept Wheeling in the game. In the second half, Wheeling was looking to get their offense going and find a way to back up the strong effort from their goalkeeper.

Wheeling would get those opportunities early in the second half, taking three of the first five shots in the half, putting one of those shots on goal. The two teams went back and forth for the first 25 minutes of that second half, but it would be the Golden Eagles who finally broke through. They got on the board in the 71^st minute of the game when Adrian Gamacho snuck the ball past Harry Firth and gave Charleston the lead 2-1 After trying the game earlier in the day, Wheeling looked for their opportunity to bring the score even again but never found it.

The University of Charleston scored another quick goal in the 72^nd minute that brought the score to 3-1, and that is all the Golden Eagles would need to defeat Wheeling 3-1. The loss dropped Wheeling to 2-4 in conference play and handed the team their fourth straight loss. However, they played well throughout the afternoon against one of the top teams in the Mountain East Conference, and they bring some of that momentum with them back to their home field. This is one of the toughest stretches of the season for the Men's Soccer team, but so far, they have been keeping these high-level opponents off the board.

Leading the offense on the day for the Cardinals was freshman Armando Loynaz, who got off two shots, one on goal in the game. Rodriguez added just one shot on the day, but that goal was able to find the next and give Wheeling their only goal of the contest. Firth finished the day with three goals allowed but made five saves on the day as he helped limit the Golden Eagles' offensive attack. Wheeling finishes off this tough stretch of games on Wednesday when they host Davis & Elkins and they are hoping to finish it strong and continue to compete against top teams in the conference.

The Wheeling University Men's Soccer team is back in action when they host Davis & Elkins College with kick-off scheduled for 7 PM.