Wheeling, W. Va. – Saturday offers a full day of Athletic events with four home games all on the campus of Wheeling University. Wrapping up the weekend's festivities will be the Wheeling Men's Soccer team (4-7-1, 4-5-1) when they host Frostburg State with kick-off scheduled for 7:30 PM. The Men look for a bounce back effort on the field as they try to send everyone home happy.
Last time out, the men traveled down to Charleston, West Virginia, where they fell to The University of Charleston 6-1. In the early going, the Cardinals had trouble getting their offense going, taking just one shot over the game's first 45 minutes. However, senior Goalkeeper Austin Aaron was able to keep his team in the game, allowing just three goals. The team headed into halftime with the score sitting at 3-0 in favor of the Golden Eagles and the Cardinals looked to get the offense going. They did score their lone goal in the second half, courtesy of Richard Afolayanka, but three more Golden Eagle goals were enough to down the Cardinals and bring the game to its 6-1 final score.
For Afolayanka, the goal helped get him going after being held off the board the previous few weeks. After going six games without scoring a goal, the junior has now scored in back-to-back games and brought his season total to five. He has also been very efficient over his last two games, taking just two shots to score those two goals. Afolayanka was Wheeling Men's Soccer's lone All-MEC award winner last season and looks to get going as the season nears its end. He and freshman Diego Buenano are currently tied atop the leaderboards for goals with five each and when they both are on, can provide a dynamic 1-2 punch up front.
On the defensive end, the Cardinals were without their starting centerback but the defense held strong for most of the game. Senior Goalkeeper Austin Aaron got the start in net and, through the first 45 minutes conceded just three goals on eight shots faced on net. In total, he would make five saves on the night as he continues to be a strong force in net for Wheeling. Aaron and teammate Carlos Molina have been splitting the reps as of late and keeping their team in games. The defense will have to be a strong point once again for the Cardinals as they continue to battle and try to make it two wins in their last three games on their home field as the MEC regular season comes down to it's final four weeks, the Cardinals are looking to stay alive in the hunt for the MEC playoffs.
Entering play on Saturday, the Cardinals sit in fourth place in the conference with a record of 4-7-1 overall and 4-5-1 in conference play. They hold on to one of the top six MEC playoff spots and hold a 1.5 game lead over the fifth place team. The Cardinals got a boost with the win against Concord last Saturday, and a win this Saturday would have them back to an even conference record. With games remaining against teams that are below them in the standings, the Cardinals are looking to pile on the wins and maintain their standing in the Mountain East Conference. With their goal of being a top four MEC team still attainable, the Cardinals have a lot on the line over the final three and a half plus weeks of the season.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Bobcats will be meeting for the seventh time in program history on Saturday night and the second time this season. The Bobcats lead the all-time series with a 4-2 record over the first six meetings, but Wheeling would take the matchup earlier this season in a 1-0 game. The Cardinals have played better at home during the all-time series, going 1-1 in home games compared to just 1-3 when the teams meet in Frostburg, Maryland.
In the first meeting of the season, the game sat tied at 0-0 until the 81st minute when freshman Diego Buenano kicked in the game winning goal. Christian Ruud assisted on the play as the Cardinals got a big win in conference play. Flemming Sandt got the start in net in that game and got his first collegiate shutout but did not face a shot throughout the night thanks to the work of his defense in front of him.
The Details
Kick-off for Saturday night's game is scheduled for 7:30 PM at Bishop Schmitt Field. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
