Wheeling, W. Va. - A new week begins for the Wheeling University Men's Soccer team (0-3-1, 0-2-1) as they look for a bounce back out on the road. Wheeling plays the first of two matches in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Non-conference agreement against Salem with kick-off scheduled for 7 PM. The Cardinals are looking for their first win of the season as they continue their heavy road schedule to start the 2025 schedule.
Last time out, the Cardinals brought their MEC schedule to Bishop Schmitt Field for the first time this season when they hosted Point Park on Sunday. Point Park would press on offense early, taking four of the first six shots, and after two Cardinal saves it would be the Pioneers that got on the board. It was in the 27th minute that they got their first shot in the back of the net, and they added a second goal just six minutes later to take a 2-0 lead. Wheeling would head into the halftime trailing by that 2-0 score and would look to get back on top in the second half. Point Park would add one more goal to start the new half, but in the 74th minute Wheeling would get their goal on a free kick and cut Point Park's lead to 3-1. Point Park would get one score before the game was out and Wheeling fell 4-1 to move to 0-2-1 in MEC play.
After making his collegiate debut against the University of Charleston on Wednesday, Diego Marquez entered the game in the second half against Point Park and continued his early season success. The freshman finished with six saves on eight shots faced, and were able to keep the Cardinals in the game until the final whistle. His biggest save came in the 78th minute when Marquez was facing a one-on-one situation. He was able to get down and make the big save to keep it a two score game. In his first two games with Wheeling, Marquez has held a .769 save percentage, making 10 saves on 13 shots faced on the season. He looks to continue battling in net for the Cardinals and keeping them in games.
On the offensive side, it was Elie Simon who led the way, scoring the team's lone goal of the day. It would come in the 74th minute, after a Point Park foul set up a Wheeling Free Kick opportunity from just over 10-yards out. Simon arced the ball towards the top right corner of the net, finding the back to make it a 3-1 game. It was the first collegiate goal for Simon on his first shot taken of the season to lead the way. Jon-Michael Gordon continued his offensive push for the Cardinals, tying for the team lead with three shots while putting one on net. He leads the team in shots this season (8) and sits second on the team in shots on goal (3) through the first four games. He looks to continue pushing forward and get on the board as the season goes on.
Wheeling will take a slight break from conference play on Wednesday as they play the first of two match-ups with Salem as part of their MEC non-conference agreement. It begins a long road stretch for the Cardinals, that will see them play four of their next six games away from Bishop Schmitt Field. In 2024, the Cardinals played better on the road, earning six of their eight team points away from Bishop Schmitt Field. The Cardinals are still looking for their elusive first win of the year, and are hoping a trip to Salem can get them on the right track. The Cardinals averaged 3.0 goals per game in the two meetings a season ago, and are looking to continue that offensive success in this meeting.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Tigers are meeting for the 20th time in program history, with Wheeling leading the all-time series at 13-5-1. The Cardinals have played even better on the road, where they are 7-0-1 all-time in trips to Salem, West Virginia. It has been an offensive series for the Cardinals, with the team averaging 2.58 goals per game against Salem all-time and the Cardinals having scored at least two goals in three of the last five match-ups.
The last meeting between the two teams came on October 23rd, 2024, in a game that Wheeling won 5-4. Leading the way for Wheeling was former Cardinal Sam Clark, who finished with two of the team's five goals, while putting all three of his shots on net. Jordan Taylor added a goal of his own, taking three shots and putting them all on net, while Joergen Bjerkreim added a goal on the only shot he took.
The Details
Kick-off for Wednesday's game is scheduled for 2:30 PM inside the Bridge Sport Complex. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
