South Euclid, OH. – The Goalkeeper position has been an ever changing one to start the season for the Wheeling Men's Soccer team (0-2, 0-1), and on Wednesday, freshman Flem Sandt made his collegiate debut. The Cardinals battled throughout the night, but ended up dropping their Mountain East Conference (MEC) opener to Notre Dame College 3-0. The Cardinals faced a lot of shots on net, and the defense did their job keeping their team in the game.

Sandt, a freshman from Dortmund Germany, got his first collegiate start in net and had his work cut out from him. On the day, he faced 16 total shots, nine of those going on net, and was able to keep it a close game. He made six saves on those nine shots, for a save percentage of .667 on the day. Each of the Cardinals first two goalkeepers were able to keep the opposition at three goals or less and that bodes well for the team moving forward. On the offensive side of the ball, it was another big game for freshman Diego Buenano. For the second game in a row, he led the team taking two shots and putting one on goal. Harry Martin and Miguel Martin each finished with a shot on goal while Richard Afolayanka rounded out the offense with one shot taken.

As the game got underway on Wednesday, it took both offenses a little time to get going. Neither team was able to get a shot off in the first 10 minutes of play, with a corner kick serving as the lone action. However, it would be the Cardinals that got the first opportunity when Buenano sent a shot on goal that got saved. That was the only shot for the Cardinals through the first 30 minutes of play and they would end up being outshot in the half 11-3. However, they stayed in the game as Sandt went to work making five saves on five shots faced over the first 43 minute of play. He kept the Falcons off the board until the final minute when Notre Dame's Ned Dry kicked one in with four seconds left in the half. It would put the Cardinals down 1-0 heading into the half.

As the team's emerged for the second half, Wheeling was looking for more offensive opportunities. It was a much more balanced half, with Notre Dame outshooting Wheeling 5-4, and Wheeling was more efficient putting two of their four shots on goal. Once again, the Cardinals would get the first offensive opportunity of the half when Cole Congson shot one wide right. Afolayanka followed with a shot of his own going off target and Buenano added another off target miss. Harry Martin put the first shot on net of the half, but it was saved as the score remained 1-0. Then, after Wheeling received all a Yellow Card, Notre Dame got back on the board to make it a 2-0 affair.  The final Falcon goal came in the 77th minute and brought the game to its 3-0 final score.

The Wheeling University Men's Soccer team heads back out on the road when they return to action on Sunday, September 4th against Alderson Broaddus. Kick-off is scheduled for 12 PM.