Wheeling, W. Va. – It was an emotional night both on and off the field at Bishop Schmitt Field on Saturday as the Wheeling University Men's Soccer team (5-11-1,4-10-1) honored their seniors and head coach Jim Regan on his 39 years as head coach at Wheeling University. The Cardinals were able to send their head coach out in style, defeating the Hilltoppers 2-1 in their 2021 season finale.

It only took a couple of minutes for the offense to get going, as they turned to one of those leaders all season. Senior Cesar Carlin sent a crosser over to Richard Afolayanka,  who found the net and gave Wheeling a 1-0 lead. With only two minutes having wound down on the game clock, Wheeling was staked to the early advantage. However, it was a back and forth first half, with Wheeling outshooting the Hilltoppers just 9-7. The Cardinals' defense was able to hold West Liberty off the board for most of the first half, but the Hilltoppers finally broke through in the 42^nd minute of the game.

Liam Toman bobbed and weaved his way through the Wheeling defense, and put a shot on net in the 42^nd minute. It would get past goalkeeper Tyler Serman, and tired the game at 1-1 right before halftime. Serman had saved three shots up until that point, but couldn't keep the fourth one from going in. The team's headed to halftime with the score remaining 1-1, as they tried to find a way to get past the West Liberty defense once again. At halftime, Wheeling University Men's and Women's soccer alumni held a special ceremony honoring Jim Regan's 3 years as Wheeling Head Men's Soccer coach.

The ceremony seemed to fuel Regan's team, as they wasted no time coming out hot on offense. Much like they did in the first half, Wheeling picked up another quick-strike goal in the second half, finding the net in the 46^th minute. TJ Cherry sent a crossed to midfield at the 10-yard line and found freshman Daniel Skarpnes right in front of the net. Skarpnes took the shot and headed the ball into the net to give Wheeling a 2-1 lead. The quick-strike got Wheeling out in front once again, but with a whole second half to play, they would have to hold off the Hilltoppers over the final 43 minutes of the game.

It wasn't an easy task by any stretch of the imagination, as the Cardinals' rival fought hard all the way to the end. Wheeling outshot the Cardinals 9-7 in that second half, and Serman was able to keep the Hilltoppers off the board with three big second-half saves. Things got a little dicey at the end of the game, but Wheeling was able to hold on and win the match by the final score of 2-1. Wheeling was able to avenge their loss to the Hilltoppers earlier in the year and ended up splitting the season series at one game apiece.

Afolayanka led the offense, taking three shots and putting two of those on goal. Four other Cardinals got two shots off in the game, with Skarpnes adding the goal and two total shots on net. Christian Ruud, Hugo Rodriguez, and Armando Loynaz each also finished with two shots on the day. Seam finished his senior season making seven saves on eight shots faced, as he picked up a win in his final game. However, the man of honor was Regan who wrapped up an incredible Cardinals career with a win. He finished his men's soccer career with a record of 368-290-60.

The Wheeling University Men's Soccer team finished their season 5-11-1 overall and 4-10-1 in Mountain East Conference play. They now look to take this momentum into the off-season as they continue to build the program.