Wheeling, W. Va. – After struggling to find their offensive groove in 2023, the Wheeling University Men's Soccer team (0-0-1, 0-0) headed into 2024 looking to get their offense going. They would tally their first goal of the season early in the first half and despite conceding a goal were able to tie CAL-U 1-1. It is their third tie in the last five games, dating back to October 18th of last year, as they got a crucial point to start the year before Mountain East Conference (MEC) play.

Over the first 11 minutes of the game, the two teams battled for possession, with two fouls being called on both teams. The last of those four fouls was called on the Cardinals, and CAL-U's Bellamy Cox-Sitkiewicz would send the first shot of the day over the crossbar. Wheeling would then go on the offensive attack, and set up for a corner kick in the 15th minute. Andrew Gerbaldo would set up for the corner kick and send a crosser screaming to the middle of the net. Joergen Bjerkreim would leap up and connect with a headset that found the back of the net and gave Wheeling a 1-0 lead. The Cardinal's front line defense would hold strong throughout the first half, forcing bad shots and blocking several shots to keep Goalkeeper Daniel Delo clean in his first career shot.

The Vulcan's first shot on net came in the 33rd minute courtesy of Cox-Sitkiewicz, and Delo would make the save to keep the Cardinal's one goal lead. It would be the lone shot on net for CAL-U in the half and the two teams broke for the locker room with Wheeling holding their 1-0 lead. Defense ruled throughout the first half of the game, with only six total shots between the two teams, with just two of those landing on net. CAL-U would outshoot the Cardinals 5-1 in the half, but Wheeling would be the lone team to find the back of the net over the first 45 minutes of play. Delo would make the lone save in the half and was just beginning what would be a strong effort in net in his first collegiate start. He would be put to the test right away in the second half and inserted the call.

After a foul on Wheeling started the half, CAL-U got possession and quickly went on the attack. In the 47th minute, Eloie Vellvehi sent a shot on net and Delo came through with his second save of the day to keep it a 1-0 Wheeling advantage. Over the first 21 minutes of the new half, Delo would face fire, taking three shots on net and he was able to keep the Cardinals in the lead with three big saves. Head coach Brandon Regan put an emphasis on his team's defensive play throughout the preseason and for the first 73 minutes of the game they held strong. However, CAL-U would break through in the 73rd minute as Montenegro Flores took a pass from Shicko Ichimiya and found the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1. Defense continued to hold strong on both ends, and in the final three minutes both teams would make pushes for the winning goal.

It started in the 87th minute when back-to-back foils on CAL-U gave Wheeling possession. After a series of substitutions on both sides, the Cardinals got into attack mode and sent a free kick deep into their offensive territory. After the ball bounced around between players, Alonso Martinez leaped into the air for a header with a chance to give Wheeling the winning score. However, the shot sailed just right of the net and the Vulcans retook possession. The Cardinals defense had been stout all night long and they would come up with one more stop on the day. CAL-U would get into the offensive zone in the 88th minute with just Delo standing in their way. Vellvehi took a cross and sent the shot towards net, but Delo was able to get down and make the save, capping off a strong night in net and the 1-1 tie for the Cardinals.

The defense led the way throughout the night with Alvaro Ivanov, Alex Yesufu, and Henri Falcon leading the charge. They helped support Daniel Delo in net for his first career start, holding the Vulcans to jusg one goal on the night. Delo would make five saves on six shots faced throughout the night for a 83.3 save percentage as he helped the Cardinals earn their first point of the season. The lone Cardinal goal of the day came courtesy of Joergen Bjerkreim, who would bet his first career goal and score his first two career points in the tie. Andrew Gerbaldo would take the other Cardinal shot on the day to round out the effort

The Wheeling University Men's Soccer team returns to action on Sunday, September 8th, when they host the University of Charleston with kick-off at 3 PM.