Wheeling, W. Va. - With the 2024 season winding down, the Wheeling University Men's Soccer team (2-11-4, 1-9-3) honored their seniors before their final home game of the season. They welcomed in Davis & Elkins to wrap up the home schedule and would match shot for shot with the Senators before falling 4-0. The Cardinals took 12 shots on the day, six on target but couldn't break through on the scoreboard as they played for the final time in front of their home fans.
The Cardinals would be the first to take their shot, as Alvaro Ivanov set up for a free kick in the first minute. He sent a shot towards net , but Davis & Elkins's Dante Ordenes would make the save to thwart the attempt. Wheeling would take the first four shots of the game, with the other three going off net before the Senators had their first shot. They sent the shot to the bottom right corner of the net and Carlos Molina would make the save to keep it scoreless. In the 25th minute, Josh Timbrell would take a shot off net before Davis & Elkins would get on the board thirty seconds later. Davis & Elkins's Kendall Pellott sent a crosser across the field and Modou Faye would head the ball into the net and made it a 1-0 game. The two teams would battle back and forth throughout the half, with Alvaro Ivanov put another shot on net in the 30th minute, but couldn't put it on net.
In the final three minutes of the half, the Senators were driving towards the net and a foul on Wheeling's Molina would set up a Penalty Kick opportunity. Dominique Castano would be the one taking the kick for the Senators and would sneak it into the bottom left corner of the net to make it 2-0. That would remain the score at halftime. Offensively it was a pretty even half for the teams as they split the shots evenly at eight apiece. Four total shots landed on net, with Davis & Elkins putting two on the board. They would extend that lead as they came out of the second half, scoring two goals in the first five seconds of play as they pushed their lead to 4-0. During the run, Christian Ruud would put a shot on the net for the Cardinals as they would try to get on the board in the second half.
As the half went on, the Cardinals continued to take shots and tried to get on the board in the second half. Luis Bravo and Hayden Johnson would each take shots during the run, but both fell off net. In the 83rd minute, Pablo Prieto would come up from the back line and took his first shot of the day. He would send it to the bottom right corner of the net and a save from Ordenes kept it a 4-0 game. The Cardinals would make one more push with a corner kick in the 88th minute, but it would fall short as the Cardinals fell to the Senators 4-0 to round out the day.
While the Cardinal's back line has been strong on defense all season long, they were the Cardinal leaders for the offense. Alvaro Ivanov would lead the way, taking two shots each, putting both on net, while Pablo Prieto would add another shot on net to round out the effort. Christian Ruud would take the final shot on net of the day, while Josh Timbrell would add two shots off net. Carlos Molina would lead the defense for the Cardinals, finishing with two saves on six shots faced to round out the night.
The Wheeling University Men's Soccer team returns to action on Wednesday, November 6th, when they hit the road to face West Liberty at 5 PM.
