Wheeling, W. Va. - After wrapping up their 2023 road schedule on Sunday, the Wheeling University Men's Soccer team (1-13-2, 0-11-2) Returns home for the final time on Wednesday. They host Mountain East Conference (MEC) rival West Liberty University with kickoff at 7:30 PM. It'll be a big day for the team as they celebrate their six seniors and their final collegiate home games to wrap up the year. Richard Afolayanka, Sam Clark, Austin Aaron, Elim Babylon, Andrew Bell, and Harry Martin will all be honored before the game as they compete for the final time as Cardinals.
Last time out, the Cardinals wrapped up their road schedule in 2023 when they made the trip to Elkins, West Virginia to take on the Senators. The shots were pretty even throughout the night, with Davis & Elkins holding the advantage at 20-16, with the first half differential being 11-10 in favor of the Senators. However, Davis & Elkins put three of their six shots on goal into the back of the net while Wheeling's three shots on goal were all saved to send the teams into the locker room with Wheeling trailing 3-0. The Cardinals would get one of the three goals back in the 51st minute, but that was their only goal of the day and a pair of second half goals for the Senators was enough to sink the Cardinals.
The lone Cardinal goal of the day was scored by freshman Jon-Michael Gordon, who looks to end his strong freshman campaign on a high note. The freshman leads the team with 21 shots and four goals, while sitting tied for the team lead in points (8). After scoring his first goal in the team's second game of the season against West Virginia Wesleyan, Michael-Gordon has found his groove as the season nears its conclusion. He has scored three of his four goals, and both of his assists, in three of their last four games. Gordon looks to continue his success on the field in his final game of the season as the Cardinals search for that elusive first MEC win of the season against their rival.
The other key to the Cardinal's offense as of late has been senior Richard Afolayanka, who is one of Saturday's six honorees. He sits right behind Gordon with three goals this season, with all three of those goals coming in his last three matches. He has the most career goals among active Cardinal players, entering Wednesday's game with 21 goals over his four seasons in a Cardinal uniform. He looks to end his career strong as he plays for the final time at Bishop Schmitt Field. One of the other Cardinal seniors to be honored is Austin Aaron, who will look to continue the Cardinal's defensive success this season. HE has started six games for the Cardinals this season, making 25 saves as he looks to keep the West Liberty offense down.
With Wednesday marking the regular season finale for the Cardinals, they look to finish the season strong as they play their final home game. The offense has hit a turning point down the stretch, averaging two goals per game over their last four games, including three goals in their tie with the #12 team in the country in Notre Dame College. Some of the young Cardinal scorers have found their groove and look to continue their development in this final game of the season. As the Cardinals welcome in their rivals from West Liberty, the team is looking to hand them a loss before the MEC Tournament begins next week.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Hilltoppers are meeting for the 10th time in program history, and the second time this season. The all-time series currently sits tied at 5-5, however, the Cardinals are undefeated at home against the Hilltoppers, sitting at 4-0. The two teams have split the last two meetings between the teams, with West Liberty taking each of the last two games and Wheeling taking the two before that. The Cardinals are averaging 1.6 goals per game in the all-time series and look to get on the board early and often.
In their first meeting of the season, Wheeling fell on the road to the Hilltoppers in a 2-0 affair in the first meeting of "The Battle for Wheeling." The Cardinals offense was led by Alvaro Ivanov, who finished with two shots, putting one of those on goal. TJ Cherry, Florian Regent, and Harry Martin would get off the other three shots in the loss. Carlos Molina would get the start in net for the Cardinals and made two saves on four shots faced on the afternoon.
The Details
Kick-off for Wednesday night's game is scheduled for 7:30 PM at Bishop Schmitt Field, with senior day ceremonies beginning at 7:23 PM. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
