Wheeling, W. Va. - After starting their conference slate with a loss to Notre Dame College, the Wheeling University Men's Soccer team (2-2-1, 2-1-1) has been rolling as of late. Over their last three games, the Cardinals have gone 2-0-1 and have seen a lot of success on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. They look to keep that momentum going on Wednesday night when they return to Bishop Schmitt Field to take on Notre Dame College at 7:30 PM.
Last time out, it was a hard-fought win for the Cardinals as they went on the road and took a 1-0 victory over Frostburg State. The game winning goal wasn't scored until the 81st minute, but the Cardinals defense did a wonderful job of keeping the Bobcats out of the offensive zone. In the first half, Frostburg State got off just two shots while the Cardinals took 11. Still, the teams went into halftime tied at 0-0 and the battle began in the second half. It took until the game's 81st minute, but freshman Diego Buenano took a pass from Christian Ruud and put the ball in for the game winning score. The Cardinals would be able to hold onto that lead for the final nine minutes and picked up their second conference win of the season to move to 2-1-1.
For Buenano it was his second collegiate goal and his second goal in a high-pressure situation in the last week. Each of the two goals he scored Gabe Wheeling the lead at the time, and one was the game winner. He has been a spark plug off the bench for the team and is currently tied with teammate Richard Afolayanka for the team lead in goals. He is currently second in shots this season, with 12, and has a shooting percentage of .167 coupled with a shot on goal percentage of .250. With a rematch brewing against Notre Dame College, the Cardinals will once again look to Buenano to be a spark plug and get the offense going once again.
While the offense has gotten sparked as of late, the defense has been a consistent force for the Cardinals all season long. In their first five games of the season, the team has yet to concede more than three goals in a game and that is due to the work of their goalkeepers and their back line. Sophomore Carlos Molina and freshman Flemming Sandt have each picked up shutout victories this season and in the most recent game, Sandt didn't face a shot. That is thanks to the work of TJ Cherry, Malte Fredin, Armando Loynaz, and the other Cardinals on that back line. They do an excellent job of keeping the ball in the other team's offensive zone and giving Wheeling plenty of scoring opportunities.
In the early portion of conference play, Wheeling is clinging to the #3 spot in the Mountain East Conference as they try and chase down their first tournament berth since the 2018 season when they made it to the MEC Championship. They still have several tough tasks ahead of them, including games against the top two teams in the conference in Charleston and Davis & Elkins, but the Cardinals are looking to hold their own. Wednesday will offer them an opportunity to get some revenge against a Falcon team that beat them last time and keep their winning record in conference play alive.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Falcons will be meeting for the 22nd time in program history and the second time during the 2022 season. Notre Dame College leads the all-time series with a record of 17-2-2 and the Cardinals will be looking to even the season series. Both Cardinals wins against Notre Dame College have come in game at home and have averaged 0.555 goals per game in those previous nine games. In their first meeting of the year, the Cardinals fell to the Falcons 3-0 on the road in South Euclid, Ohio.
In that first meeting, Diego Buenano led the way with two shots, one on goal, while Harry Martin added one shot on goal. Flemming Sandt got the start in net that day and set what is still the season high when he made six saves on nine shots faced on net. The Cardinals are looking to bounce back this time around as they try and get in the win column.
The Details
Kick-off for Wednesday 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.
