Elkins, W. Va. – On Wednesday, the Wheeling Men's Soccer team (3-6-1, 3-4-1) faced their toughest test yet when they took on #1 Davis & Elkins. After getting the first goal of the game, the Cardinals could not keep up with the potent Senators offense as they fell 9-1. Freshman Diego Buenano continued his strong freshman campaign with his fourth goal of the season, but it wasn't enough to lead Wheeling to victory.

That fourth goal of the year came early in the game as Wheeling came out strong. They possessed the ball for most of the first six minute of the game and got a corner kick in the game's fifth minute. The Cardinals nearly got on the board when Harry Martin sent the ball towards net, but a save kept the Cardinals off the board. However, on the next offensive opportunity, Wheeling took advantage as Diego Buenano sent the ball into the net off a pass from Salem Mwelwa that made it a 1-0 Cardinals advantage. Wheeling would hold that lead for the first 23 minutes of play thanks to big saves from sophomore keeper Carlos Molina. He made two saves to keep Davis & Elkins off the board and kept it a 1-0 game.

However, in the 25th minute, the Senators were on the board and made it a 1-1 game. That's when the offense for Davis & Elkins got going as they added another goal in the 34th minute and led 2-1. The Senators put three more shots on net in the half and Molina made the save each time to send the team's into halftime with the Cardinals trailing 2-1. They showed that they could hang around with one of the top teams in the country. In the second half, the Cardinals looked to get the offense going, but were unable to do so. Davis & Elkins added on seven second half goals as things got out of hand before Wheeling was able to battle back. The Cardinals dropped to 3-4-1  in conference play as they look to continue to battle for a spot in this year's MEC tournament.

Diego Buenano led the Cardinals offense, scoring the lone goal of the day and taking five shots, three on goal. The other two shots in the day came from Harry Martin and Lucas Yoshikan, who each put one shot on net. Salem Mwelwa rounded out the offensive game with the lone assist on the night. Carlos Molina got the start in net and made a career-high 13 saves on 22 shots for a .591 save percentage. The Cardinals will look to bounce back from tonight as they continue this three-game road stretch.

The Wheeling University Men's Soccer team returns to action on Saturday, October 1st, when they take on Concord at noon.