Wheeling, W. Va. - The Wheeling University Men's Soccer team (0-1, 0-1) jumped headfirst into Mountain East Conference (MEC) play to start 2023 when they fell to the University of Charleston in the season opener on Sunday. Their MEC road trip continues this week as they look for a bounce back in Buckhannon, West Virginia when they take on West Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday at 7 PM. It will be yet another rematch from the Cardinal's 2022 MEC Tournament run, and they look to pick up their first win of the season before coming home on Saturday.
In that season opener, the Cardinals took on the #5 team in Division II soccer in the University of Charleston and played them well despite falling 3-1. The Cardinals were on the board in the game's second minute, converting a successful corner kick and taking the early 1-0 lead. The Cardinal's defense was able to hold off the Golden Eagles through the first 25 minutes of play, but Charleston would get on the board and send the game into halftime tied at 1-1. Despite the close score, the only shot taken by the Cardinals during the first half came on that corner kick as Wheeling was outshot 10-1. In the second half, Charleston found their groove with goals in the 47th minute and the 79th minute to build the 3-1 lead. The Cardinals would get two shots off in the second half, one on goal, and ended up falling 3-1 to kick-off their season.
Despite the loss, the defense put together a solid game, holding the #5 team in Division II soccer to just three goals on the scoreboard. A lot of that was thanks to the work of Goalkeeper Carlos Molina, who got the start in the opener and made six saves on nine shots faced on the afternoon. Of those six saves, five of those came in the second half as he kept the Cardinals within a two-goal deficit throughout the night. Molina is coming off a year in which he posted a .657 save percentage in 2022 and is looking for similar success as he comes back fully healthy for the 2023 campaign as he and the three other goalkeepers on the roaster work together to limit opponents.
On the offensive end, the Cardinals did not have much offense to work with, but the goal they did score came courtesy of junior TJ Cherry. He took Sam Clark's corner kick in the second minute and headed the ball into the bottom left corner of the net for the first goal of his collegiate career. Usually back on the defensive side of the ball, it was a big moment for the junior as he got on the board and was able to get his team out in front. Aside from Cherry's goal the Cardinals also got contributions from junior Christian Ruud and freshman Johannes Haugerud. Ruud equaled Cherry's effort, taking one shot and putting it on goal while Haugerud finished with the third Cardinal shot, missing the mark. The Cardinals offense will look to create more opportunities as the season goes on in MEC play.
Wednesday night's match will be the second straight rematch from the 2022 MEC Tournament for the Cardinals as they take on their opponent from the 2022 MEC Quarterfinal round. Wheeling will be looking to duplicate their effort from last season, when they beat the Bobcats 1-0 on their home field but take that success on the road. It will be the second straight road game for the Cardinals to start the new campaign, before they come home for three straight games beginning on Saturday. Wednesday's game has three big points on the line for the Cardinals as they try to even their record on their quest back to the MEC Tournament.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Bobcats will be meeting for the 37th time in program history, with West Virginia Wesleyan leading the all-time matchup with a record of 19-10-7. Road matchups in the series have not been as kind to the Cardinals, who hold a 4-13-3 record on the road against the Bobcats. It has not been a high scoring series, with each of the past four matchups being decided by one goal or less, including the 1-0 Wheeling victory in last season's MEC Quarterfinal matchup.
The lone goal in that game came courtesy of Richard Afolayanka, who set a new career-high with eight goals on the score. Christian Ruud notched the only assist of the game while former Cardinal Diego Buenano matched Afolayanka's effort with four shots taken, one on goal. Austin Aaron got the start in net for the Cardinals that day, picking up the shutout with three saves on three shots faced on the evening.
The Details
Kick-off for Wednesday night's game is scheduled for 7 PM at Buckhannon-Upshur High School in Buckhannon, West Virginia. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
