Wheeling, W. Va. - The Wheeling University Men's Soccer season came to a close on Saturday, but the Mountain East Conference (MEC) released their annual postseason awards. The Cardinals had one representative in this year's list of honorees as sophomore forward Richard Afolayanka was named an All-MEC Honorable Mention award winner for the second season in a row.
Afolayanka was the Cardinals leading scorer this season with a career-high seven goals in 15 games played for the sophomore. He finished the year in a five-way tie for sixth place in the MEC in goals and tied for eighth in the conference by putting 16 shots on goal. He was one of the most efficient shooters for the Cardinals this season, with a shooting percentage of .259, and finished the year with an impressive .593 shooting percentage on shots on goal.
It was Afolayanka who got the offense started in each of the team's final two games of the regular season, scoring the first goal in each game. Against Alderson Broaddus, Afolayanka got the Cardinals on the board in the 15th minute, and he did it even faster against West Liberty, scoring in just the second minute of the game. The sophomore had one multi-goal game this season, scoring two goals in the season-opener against The University of Pitt Johnstown on September 4th.
Afolayanka was the team's lone All-Conference representative for the second year in a row, with the sophomore earning All-MEC Honorable Mention in the spring of 2021 as well. He beat his former season-high in goals by four and ended up taking 12 more shots than he did in previous seasons. Afolayanka is one of the main pieces of the Wheeling Men's Soccer team moving forward, as he leads the team into the future.
Davis & Elkins had both the offensive and defensive player of the year, with Daniel Cerezo and Alex Estrada taking home the awards. Ailton Silva from Notre Dame College earned the Freshman of the Year award, and Davis & Elkins Dean Johnson won the Coach of the Year Award. To see a complete list of All-MEC winners, click HERE.
