Wheeling, W. Va. – In the final game of Saturday's Homecoming & Family Weekend, the Wheeling University Men's Soccer team hosted Frostburg State. Their was a lot of early offense for the Cardinals and it was enough to sustain them as they went on to win 3-2. They earned their fifth Mountain East Conference (MEC) win of the year and brought their conference record back to even at 5-5-1.
It didn't take long for the Cardinals to take advantage of the home field, scoring in the game's second minute.
Diego Buenano brought the ball up field, but a Wheeling foul would turn it around. On the ensuing Frostburg State free kick, Buenano would take the ball back and set up a shot from the 10-yard line. He snuck it bottom right pass the goalkeeper, and the Cardinals found themselves ahead 1-0 at the 2:45 mark of the first half. The Cardinals would keep the offensive attack strong in those first 10 minutes as freshman
Kyran Lockwood getting the ball. He got the ball at about the five-yard line and sent it towards the net, it snuck past the diving keeper and before 10 minutes had gone by, Wheeling led 2-0.
Frostburg State would then find their stride, sending four shots towards net from the 11th minute to the 15th minute, but
Austin Aaron kept denying them with two big saves. However, in the 16th minute, the Bobcats would get on the board with their first goal and made it a 2-1 affair. It was back and forth throughout the remainder of the first half, and the Cardinals sent two shots towards net. They were denied on both attempts as the score remained 2-1. Aaron continued to hold strong in net making two big saves and the Cardinals held their one-goal lead as the team broke for halftime.
The Bobcats came out in the second half trying to tie the game with two big shots. Aaron made the save on the one that landed on net and it remained a 2-1 game. Wheeling was looking for that goal to clinch the win and they found it in the 65th minute of action. The Cardinals brought the ball up the field and
Harry Martin held it on the 15-yard line on the left side of the field. He sent a crosser to teammate Chirstian Ruud, who had an open shot. He sent the ball towards the net and scored that key third goal that made it a 3-1 game. The Bobcats added one more goal in the 77th minute and made it a 3-2 affair with 13 minutes to play. The Bobcats sent one more shot on net in the 83rd minute and one more save by
Austin Aaron secured the 3-2 win.
Although he didn't score a goal,
Harry Martin took the most shots for the Cardinals, with five shots and two on goal.
Diego Buenano,
Christian Ruud, and
Kyran Lockwood each scored goals in the win. For Lockwood, it was his first career collegiate goal while Buenano now has his team leading sixth goal of the season.
Austin Aaron got the start in net and made six saves on eight shots faced throughout the night. The Cardinals are now 5-5-1 in MEC play and continue their quest to capture one of the top four spots in the conference.
The Wheeling University Men's Soccer team returns to action on Wednesday, October 12th, when they hit the road to face West Virginia Wesleyan at 7 PM.
