Wheeling, W. Va. – After picking up their second Mountain East Conference (MEC) win on Sunday against Frostburg State, the Wheeling University Men's Soccer team (3-1, 2-1) heads on the road on Wednesday to battle Notre Dame College. The Cardinals bounced back after a tough road loss to beat the Bobcats 2-1 on a second-half goal.
The score was tied 1-1 at halftime, and both teams had their scoring opportunities in the game. Wheeling got their first goal in the 10th minute of the game, while the Bobcats followed in the 20th minute. It had been a pretty back and forth battle to that point, but Wheeling would get their chance to pull ahead for good early in the second half. Fairmont was outshooting Wheeling 4-3 through the first 15 minutes of the second half, but a yellow card ended up turning the tide for the Cardinals.
Fairmont received the card in the 59th minute, and Wheeling would get the ball back from there. Freshman Hugo Rodriguez (Madrid, Spain/Colegio San Buenaventura) got the ball downfield and had a shot at the front of the net. He took his shot and was able to get it past the goalkeeper and into the bottom right-hand corner for Wheeling's second goal of the day. It brought the score to 2-1, and Wheeling would have to fight off one more Frostburg State Comeback attempt.
It came in the 86th minute when Frostburg's Malek Shedid had the ball in Wheeling's offensive territory. Shedid had a lane and took a shot on goal that looked like it would tie the game with four minutes on the clock. However, senior goalkeeper Tyler Serman (Auburndale, Fl./Auburndale HS) was able to dive to his left and make the save to keep his team ahead. That save helped Serman earn his second win of the season and moved Wheeling to 2-1 in conference play and 3-1 overall.
Entering play on Wednesday, the Wheeling Men's Soccer team is tied for fourth in the MEC with West Virginia Wesleyan, who they lost to on September 15th. It is a crowded MEC standings, with five teams sitting at 3-1 or better overall and six teams sitting at 2-1 or better in conference play. Notre Dame and Wheeling are two of those teams sitting at 2-1 in the conference, and the Cardinals will be looking to get the upper hand in the standings with a win on Wednesday.
The Match-Up
The Cardinals and Falcons are very familiar with each other, meeting up 19 times dating back to the 2005 season. However, during that time, Wheeling has not faired well in those meetings, going just 2-15-2 against Notre Dame College. Wheeling has lost three straight to the Falcons, and their last win came on October 31st, 2018, when Wheeling defeated Notre Dame College to advance to the MEC Championship game.
Their last game came on April 9th, 2021, in a game that Notre Dame would win 2-0 at Bishop Schmitt Field. Neither team was able to get on the board in the first half, but the Falcons had a significant advantage, outshooting Wheeling 14-4. That advantage would finally pay off in the end when Notre Dame notched goals in the 59th and 81st minutes to claim victory. Former Cardinal Joshua Zimmerman had a big night in net, making 10 saves, but it wasn't enough to help his team win.
The Details
Kick-off for Wednesday afternoon's game is scheduled for 4 PM in South Euclid, Ohio. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
