Wheeling, W. Va. - It was a big night at Bishop Schmidt Field on Saturday when the Wheeling University Men's Soccer team (6-9-1, 6-7-1) hosted Davis & Elkins. A win would have clinched wheeling's first Mountain East (MEC) playoff spot since the 2018 season, however, the Cardinals fell to the Senators 4-1. After battling to a scoreless game through the first 45 minutes all five goals were scored in the second half as Wheeling couldn't keep up with the Senator offense.
The first half of this one played out much like the first meeting between these two teams with both offenses starting out slow. Davis & Elkins would get the first shot of the game in the third minute as they controlled the ball for a majority of the first half. Wheeling kept driving into the offensive zone but was unable to take a shot as the Senators defenders took the ball away. That first shot came in the 34th minute when
Miguel Martin put one on net, but unfortunately it was saved and kept the game scoreless. Wheeling would get off two shots in that first half, both courtesy of Martin, with one landing on net. Davis & Elkins couldn't find the back of the net either, putting only one shot on net that was saved by
Austin Aaron, and the teams went into halftime with a 0-0 score
As the teams came out for the second half things would get chippy on the field as both offenses got to work. Each team got a yellow card in the 47th minute as 11 of the 12 cards given out on the day came in the second half. Davis & Elkins would get on the board just after that first card to take a 1-0 lead in the 48th minute. After another big save by Aaron, the Cardinals offense came right back in the 51st minute bringing the ball to their offensive zone.
Richard Afolayanka made moves around defenders and found
Harry Martin in front of the net. Martin shot the ball past the keeper and tied the game at 1-1 for his first goal of the night. However the tides would turn on the very next possession when Davis & Elkins was awarded a penalty kick.
They missed the first attempt, but an encroachment call gave them a re-kick and they shot it through to take a 2-1 lead. They added two more goals in the span of 2 minutes and increase their lead to 4-1 in a blink of an eye. During that time several yellow cards were handed out as the teams began to battle for position on the field. However, that would be the last of the offense in this game as Wheeling was able to sub in from their bench over the final 15 minutes. Wheeling got off three shots in the second half, but we're unable to get on the board. As the clock reached zero the 4-1 score remained as the Cardinals dropped their second straight home contest.
Leading the way for the Wheeling offense was
Harry Martin who finished with one shot putting it in net for the only goal of the game.
Miguel Martin led the team with two shots taken on the night, one on net, while Adam Edivinsson and
Salem Mwelwa got off the other two shots. Goalkeeper
Austin Aaron finished the night with five saves on nine shots faced in the loss. The Cardinals still had a chance to clinch an MEC playoff spot tomorrow as West Liberty takes on West Virginia Wesleyan. A Hilltoppers loss to the Bobcats would earn the Cardinals a playoff berth.
The Wheeling University Men's Soccer Team returns to action on Wednesday, October 26th when they host Alderson Broaddus on senior night with kickoff at 7:30 p.m.
