Philippi, W. Va. – There was a lot of early action on Wednesday evening when the Wheeling Men's Socce team (4-11-1, 3-10-1) took on Alderson Broaddus. Wheeling got on the board first, but the Battlers scored three unanswered and ended up taking the game 3-1.

Both offenses were on fire early on in the game, as the team's combined for eight shots in the first 15 minutes of the game Wheeling got off two of those eight shots, with Miguel Martin and Hugo Rodriguez taking those shots. Wheeling would be the first offense to break through in the 15^th minute of the game. Richard Afolayanka tool a pass from Rodriguez and knocked it into the bottom left corner of the net. The Cardinals would hold that lead for just five minutes before the Battlers got back on the board. Angel De Avila would find the net and tie the game at 1-1 in the 20^th minute.

10 minutes later, Alderson Broaddus would extend their lead when Alberto Figueroa scored the make it 2-1. The team's would enter halftime with that 2-1 score standing after an eventful first half. There were a total of 15 shots taken in that first half, with Wheeling being outshot 10-5. Goalkeeper Austin Aaron got his first start of the season and played well in the first half, making five saves on seven shots faced. Wheeling was able to get their offense going a little bit in the first half, but were looking to get back on the board in the second half in their final road game of the 2021.

Neither offense got anything going right away, as the first shot of the second half didn't come until the 52^nd minute. Wheeling came back strong, outshooting Alderson Broaddus 9-7, but they were never able to get back on the board. Neither team would get on the board until the 82^nd minute when the Battlers secured their victory. Tanner Kidwell would score the game-clinching goal, taking a pass from De Avila for the third goal of the day. The game would end with that 3-1 score as Wheeling dropped their 10^th Mountain East Conference (MEC).

Afolayanka led the offense taking three shots, putting all these of those shots on goal. Christian Ruud added two more shots on goal, while Rodriguez took two shots, with neither falling on net.  Armando Loynaz took five shots on the day and put one of those on goal. Aaron got his first start of the season in net and made seven saves while facing 10 shots on net. The Wheeling offense as a whole was pretty efficient taking 14 shots and putting six of those I'm goal. They have one more chance to go out and prove themselves in 2021, and will look to end it on a high note.

The Wheeling University Men's Soccer team is back in action on Saturday when they host West Liberty at 6 PM. It will be the final regular season home game in the 39-year career of Head Coach Jim Regan as we celebrate his retirement.