Wheeling, W. Va. - The road has been kind to the Wheeling University Men's Soccer team (4-6-1, 4-4-1) this season, with three of their four wins coming away from Bishop Schmitt Field. They continue their road series on Wednesday as they wrap up a three-game road set against Charleston at 7 PM. After a win on Saturday, the Cardinals are looking to make it two-in-a-row as they look to get hot down the stretch as they look for their first Mountain East Conference (MEC) playoff berth since the 2018 season when they made the MEC Championship game.
Last time out, the Cardinals battled Concord and came out 4-1, with three of those goals coming in the second half of the game. The Cardinals fell behind early in the game as Concord scored in the 14th minute of the game to take a 1-0 lead. The deficit wouldn't last long as nine minutes later, Richard Afolayanka got on the board with his third goal of the season to tie the game at 1-1. In the second half, the Cardinals offense came to life as they scored three goals on their way to a 4-1 win. The win brought the Cardinals back to even in conference play as they continue their run to be one of the top six teams in the MEC.
Diego Buenano continued his strong freshman campaign, scoring his fifth goal, giving him a goal in back-to-back games. He has been the Cardinals top offensive player so far in 2022, leading the way with five goals and 12 points, and is tied for the team lead with two assists. He notched his second game winning goal of the season in the game and has a shot on goal percentage of .452 on the season. He combined with the veteran forwards on the team, have provided a strong offensive attack for the Cardinals. Those forwards will have to continue to be strong over the final four weeks of the regular season.
On the defensive side, Austin Aaron put together his best game of the season and picked up his first win of the year. He ended the night with five saves on six shots faced for a .833 save percentage as he moved to 1-2 on the season. Overall, he has made 13 saves on 22 shots faced for a .529 save percentage during his senior season. He, along with teammate Carlos Molina, have combined for a .632 save percentage this season and will be counted upon to keep the Cardinals in games down the stretch.
With the top six teams in the MEC making the MEC Tournament this season, the Cardinals and the other nine teams are making the final push to claim their spot. They enter Wednesday's game sitting fourth in the conference at 4-4-1 holding a 2.5 game lead over West Virginia Wesleyan. With four weeks to go, anything can happen with the Cardinals still having games against the #1 and #2 teams in the conference as well games with West Virginia Wesleyan and Alderson Broaddus, who currently hold the conference's 5th and 6th seeds. They look to handle their business as they try to clinch their first playoff berth since 2018.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Golden Eagles are meeting for the 37th time in program history and the second time here in 2022. So far, the Golden Eagles lead the series with a record of 25-10-2 and took the matchup earlier this season in a close 2-0 game. When the game is played in Charleston, Wheeling sits with a record of 4-14-1 and are looking for their first win since the 2015 season. Earlier this season, the Cardinals fell 2-0 to Charleston on their home field as they battled with the Golden Eagles.
The Cardinals were able to hold Charleston off the board for the first 45 minutes of the game and didn't concede goal #1 until the 53rd minute. Carlos Molina got the start in net for the Cardinals and ended up making four saves on six shots faced on the night.
The Details
Kick-off for Wednesday night's game is scheduled for 7 PM at the Welch Athletic Complex on the campus of The University of Charleston. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
