Wheeling, W. Va. – After having their game canceled on Wednesday night, the Wheeling Men's Soccer team (1-0, 0-0) opens up Mountain East Conference (MEC) play on Saturday when they face Alderson Broaddus (1-1, 0-1) at 6 PM. Wheeling went on the offensive attack in their season opener against Pitt Johnstown and is looking to carry that momentum over as they move into conference play.
Wheeling totaled six goals in their opener against Pitt Johnstown and had two different players end the day with two-score efforts. Sophomore Richard Afolayanka (Uniondale, NY./Uniondale NY.) and Freshman Daniel Skarpnes (Stord, Norway/South Videregaende Skule) each scored two goals on the day as Wheeling cruised to victory. The Cardinals took charge right from the start of the game, scoring their first goal at the five-minute mark, and they never relinquished the lead after that.
One thing the team did very well, is keeping the ball out of the opposition's offensive zone throughout the night. Senior Tyler Serman (Auburndale, FL./Auburndale) got the start in net and had to face just two shots on goal throughout the night. He let one of those two shots find the back of the net, as Wheeling's defenders helped keep the lane clear in front of the goal for Serman throughout the night.
Sophomore Harry Martin (London, United Kingdom/Mount Grace) and freshman TJ Cherry (Pittsburgh, PA./Seton LaSalle) notched the other two goals on the day for Wheeling in the win. After scoring just eight goals all of last season, it was nice to see the Cardinals come out firing in the opener. With the biggest roster they have seen in quite some time, Wheeling has plenty of depth to choose from, and that depth paid. Off early on.
Now, they get ready to embark on their MEC schedule looking to improve upon what they started last season. They went 1-7 in conference play a year ago, with their lone win coming against Alderson Broaddus. They were picked to finish ninth in the MEC Preseason Poll, and are determined to beat that ranking and continue to climb towards their goal of making It back to the top of the MEC.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Battlers are two teams who know each other very well, meeting up 13 times since the 2002 season. Overall, the advantage has gone to the Cardinals in the series, as they have gone 8-4-1 in those 13 contests. However, when the two teams play in Wheeling, the tables have been flipped, with Wheeling owning a 1-3-1 record against the Battlers at Bishop Schmitt Field.
Their last meeting came last spring when Wheeling walked away with a 3-2 win in Philippi, West Virginia. It would be the Battlers who took the early 2-1 lead, scoring goals in the 9th and 22nd minutes to get the early jump on the Cardinals. It came down to the final 20 minutes of the game when Santiago Calle (Bogota, Columbia/San Mateo Apostol) scored in the 72nd minute of the game. Alfolayanka would end up netting the game-winner just ten minutes later, as Wheeling improved their record to 4-0-1 against the Battlers over their last five games played.
The Details
Kick-off for tomorrow's Wheeling University Men's Soccer game is scheduled for 6:00 PM. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with live stats by clicking HERE.
