Wheeling, W. Va. – The Second half of Wednesday night 's soccer doubleheader saw the Wheeling University Men's Soccer team welcome in West Virginia Wesleyan. Wheeling's offense would take their shots, setting a season-high with 16, but couldn't find the back of the net As they fell to the Bobcats 3-0. The Cardinal offense battled throughout the night, but we're unable to get their first home win of the season.

Neither team would take a shot over the first 13 minutes of play before a foul Dave Wheeling their first opportunity of the night. Aiden Morales would attempt the free kick for the Cardinals from 25 yards out and sent the ball towards net. Bobcat goalkeeper Matteo Marciani was there to make the save, thwarting the Cardinals first attempt of the night West Virginia Wesleyan were put their first shot on net in the 14^th minute Aunt Daniel Delo get in front of the ball. However, 6 minutes later Virginia Wesleyan was back on the attack. This time , West Virginia Wesleyan's Casey Bunker would slip a pass to Sante Klosterman who put the ball on the back of the net. It gave the Bobcats a 1-0 lead early on, and the Cardinals would work to try and even the score over the next 24 minutes.

After another save by Delo, The Cardinals would hit their biggest offensive stretch of the first half, ripping off four traps in a span of two minutes. Jom-Michael Gordon would start the attack in the 32nd minute with a shot off net, but Elie Simon came back two minutes later with a shot of his own. This one would end up between the woodwork, but Marciani was once again there for the save. Pablo Prieto and Gordon would finish the run with one shot each, with both of those ending up off net. The Cardinals defense stepped up to close out the half, not allowing a Bobcat shot over the final 24 minute stretch. After taking advantage of their opportunity in the 32nd minute, the Cardinals would Mount one more push to end the half. Andoni Oynesa and Moan Nacif each took shots over the final five minutes with neither of those landing on net. The teams went into the locker room with West Virginia Wesleyan holding their 1-0 lead, despite the push from the Cardinals.

As a team from halftime West Virginia Wesleyan got a key insurance goal early. In the 50th minute, Bunker would draw a penalty inside the box and stepped in for a penalty kick opportunity. He would sneak the ball into the top right corner of the net and West Virginia Wesleyan's lead was extended to 2-0. However, Wheeling would continue to push back, taking the next four shots over an 11-minute span as they tried to answer with their first goal of the night. Three of those four shots would go off net, but their best chance of the night would come in the 61^st minute. Wheeling would push the ball up field courtesy of Gordon. He made the move around the Bobcat defense, and sent a shot past the keeper towards the back of the net. However, a heads up play from Roneba Cordice saw him get in front of the ball and kick it out of harms way.

That would be the final shot on goal for the Cardinals on the day as they weren't able to take efficient shots throughout the day. The final Cardinal shot came in the 79^th minute as Otto Amesty took a shot off net, but the Bobcats would control the time of possession the rest of the night. They would close out the scoring in the game's 86^th minute after a foul set them up for a goal kick. Matteo would boot the ball down field and onto the foot of Abdul Bediako. He would send the ball past the Cardinals defense and into the back of the net as Wesleyan increased their lead to 3-0. Wheeling's defense would have to play back on its heels the rest of the way, but were unable to move the ball to their offense. In the end, Wheeling would fall by the final score of 3-0, dropping their home record to 0-6 on the season.

Leading the way for the Cardinals was Jon-Michael Gordon, who finished with a team best four shots. However, he was only able to put one of those on goal as he helped provide a spark off the bench. Three other Cardinals would take multiple shots on the day, with Andoni Pipaon, Elie Simon, and Ruesca Martinez each finishing with two shots. Simon was the only one to put a shot on net as he finished with one of his two shots on goal. Daniel Delo got the start in net, and would finish the day with four saves on seven shots faced. The Cardinal offense would outshoot Wesleyan 16-9, but the difference would come in the shots on goal, which the Bobcats won 7-3.

The Wheeling University Men's Soccer team returns to action on Sunday, October 19^th, when they travel to Point Park at 5 PM.