Wheeling, W. Va. – After opening their 2024 Mountain East Conference (MEC) schedule with a pair of home games, the Wheeling University Men's Soccer team (0-2-1, 0-2) begin a long Three-Game Road stretch. They begin the run in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon when they hit the road to face Shepherd at 3:30 PM. The Cardinal's defense has led the way so far this season and they look to get the offense going on the road.
Last time out, the Cardinals continued MEC play when they hosted West Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday night. It was a defensive battle throughout, with both teams keeping the opposing offense at bay. Wheeling would control the time of possession throughout the first half and ended up outshooting the Bobcats 6-4 through the first 45 minutes. Of those six shots, two found their way on net, but the teams would head into the locker room with the score sitting at 0-0. It would remain that way until the 72nd minute when West Virginia Wesleyan would break the scoreless tie to take a 1-0 lead. Wheeling would have two more scoring chances late but could not convert on either as they fell 1-0 and dropped to 0-2 in MEC play.
The Cardinals have been led by a strong defensive presence on the field this season, led by the team's center back Alvaro Ivanov. After serving as a starter on the Cardinal's back line a season ago, Ivanov has taken the reigns in 2024 and run with them. He is the primary free kick taker for the Cardinals, and nearly converted one of those free kicks into his first career goal against the Bobcats. In the 81st minute, Ivanov lined up for the free kick about seven yards out of the goal. He sent a high flying shot that nearly sailed over the goalkeeper's head before being tipped back behind the net. Ivanov would get another shot off on the ensuing corner kick, but that too would fly wide left as the Cardinals couldn't get on the board. Ivanov has been a leader for the defense throughout the year and looks to continue his success throughout the season.
As a team, the Cardinals took 10 shots in Wednesday night's game, putting three on goal throughout the night. Leading the way was Luis Bravo, who set a new career high with three shots, putting one on goal. Bravo, who has served primarily as a defender and midfielder throughout his time with the Cardinals pushed to the front line as he tried to make opportunities happen. Wheeling has also seen pushes from both Antonio Herra-Blackwood and Jordan Taylor, who look to continue to grow into leaders for the Cardinal's offense. As a team, Wheeling holds a .438 shots on goal percentage and looks to start converting those shots on goal into goals as they continue through 2024.
Saturday afternoon's game will mark the first of a three-game road trip for the team, with two of those being MEC matchups. Wheeling will look to use Saturday's game as a way to get back on track before having to face both Point Park and Concord. Wheeling played well in their first road game of the year against CAL-U, where they drew a 1-1 tie with the Vulcans. Wheeling's defense will look to limit the Rams on the road and continue to create opportunities for the offense moving forward. This stretch will be a test for the team before they come home for Homecoming & Family weekend in the heart of their conference schedule.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Rams are meeting for the 32nd time in program history on Saturday, with Wheeling leading the all-time series at 24-4-3. However, it is the first meeting between the two teams since the 2018 season as they renew their rivalry from when Shepherd was a member of the MEC. Wheeling has won each of the last 12 games against Shepherd, and hold a 10-2 record when playing in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Their last meeting came on October 10th, 2018, when Wheeling came away with a 4-0 win.
Wheeling was led by former Cardinal Teavon Spencer, who accounted for three of his team's four goals on the night. The Cardinals also got a goal from former Cardinal Matin Minuzzi while former Cardinal's Dylan Schraffenberge and Pedro Crespo each picked up assists. Former Cardinal Jonathan Bosmyr got the start in net, making three saves on three shots faced on the night.
The Details
Kick-off for Saturday afternoon's game is scheduled for 3:30 PM inside the Shepherd Soccer Complex on the campus of Shepherd University. You can follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE .
