Wheeling, W. Va. – After hitting the road for their season opener, the Wheeling University Men's Soccer team (0-1-1, 0-1) continues their brief homestand to start conference play on Wednesday. The Cardinals will host West Virginia Wesleyan at Bishop Schmitt Field with kick-off scheduled for 7 PM. They look to get a win under their belt before they hit the road for three straight games leading up to three straight games leading up to the end of the month.

Last time out, the Cardinals welcomed in the University of Charleston for their 2024 Mountain East Conference (MEC) opener. Early on, the Golden Eagles would bring the offense, scoring three goals in the first seven minutes to take a 3-0 lead. After conceding the three early goals, the Cardinal defense would go into shutdown mode, holding Charleston off the board for the remaining 38 minutes of the half. The Cardinal's first shot would come in the game's 35th minute when Jordan Taylor went on a breakaway. He took a shot on net, but couldn't sneak it in as the Cardinals trailed 3-0 at halftime. Wheeling would get two more shots off in the second half, but Charleston added two goals of their own and would hold on to win 5-0.

For the second straight game, Daniel Delo would get the start in net and was able to keep the game from getting out of hand early on. After Charleston picked up three goals on their first three starts, Delo was able to shut down the Golden Eagles over the final 38 minutes of the first half. He would make three more saves before the halftime whistle and added three saves on five shots faced in the second half. Through the first two games, Delo has been a solid presence in net for the Cardinals this season, making 11 saves on 17 shots faced for a save percentage of .647 on the year. As the Cardinals continue through conference play, they will be looking for Delo to continue to be a steady presence as he helps lead the Cardinal defense.

Despite not tallying a goal in the loss against Charleston, the Cardinals were efficient on their shots throughout the afternoon. They took three shots in the game, with all three landing on net, continuing their efficiency from game one. Of the six shots taken by the Cardinals this season, four have landed on net for a shooting percentage of .667 on the year. Sophomore Jorgen Bjerkreim was the only one to find the back of the net so far as the Cardinals look to turn these shots on goal into goals as the season goes on. The Cardinals have been led by a strong defensive effort, led by Alvaro Ivanov and Alex Yesufu. The two have headlined the back line of the defense, helping force bad shots and keep Delo free of pressure.

After Wednesday night's game, the Cardinals will have to be road warriors as they hit the road for their next three games. It continues a stretch of four of their first six games being on the road. September is a road month for the team before they reap the benefits with a heavy home schedule throughout October. Their schedule also features some of the top teams in the MEC from a year ago, with five of their first six conference games coming against opponents who qualified for last year's MEC Tournament. For the Cardinals, their goal is to get back to the MEC Tournament in 2024 and wins over last year's qualifiers would go a long way into setting them up for a playoff spot of their own this season.

The Matchup

Wednesday night will mark the 44th all-time meeting between the Cardinals and Bobcats, with West Virginia Wesleyan leading the way at 23-12-8. The Cardinals have had more success at home in the all-time matchup, where they are 7-9-4 in 20 meetings. The Cardinals have gone 1-1-2 in the last four games against West Virginia Wesleyan at Bishop Schmitt Field and look to go over .500 in recent history against the Bobcats.

Their last meeting came on October 11th, 2023, when West Virginia Wesleyan picked up a 5-0 win at Bishop Schmitt Field. Former Cardinal Julio D'Lima led the Cardinals, taking four shots and putting two on goal while former Cardinal Johannes Haugerud added three shots, one on goal. Austin Aaron got the start in net and made three saves on eight shots faced in the game.

The Details

Kick-off for Wednesday night's game is scheduled for 7 PM inside Bishop Schmitt Field. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.