Wheeling, W. Va. – It was back to Mountain East Conference (MEC) play on Sunday for the Wheeling University Men's Soccer team (1-4-1, 0-3-1) as they traveled to Buckhannon, West Virginia. The Cardinals battled down to the final minutes of play, but a goal in the final seconds sank the Cardinals 1-0. The Cardinals would allow just seven shots to the Bobcats in the 90 minute game, but it was the final shot that made the difference.  

There wasn't a lot going early on, with the teams battling it out in the midfield. It wasn't until the 11th minute that the first shot was taken as the Bobcat's Erik Rostoen sent the shot towards net. Diego Marquez got the start and was able to make the same for his first of four on the day. The Cardinal's first shot would come in the 22nd minute after Wheeling set up for a corner kick. Luis Bravo headed the ball towards the goal, but  West Virginia Wesleyan's Matteo Marciani made the save to keep things at 0-0. Wheeling would get three more corner kick opportunities in the next 10 minutes, but was unable to find the net on any of the attempts. The Bobcats would get another shot off in the 31st minute, but the Cardinal's defense stiffened over the remainder of the half. Wheeling outshot West Virginia Wesleyan 3-2 in the half, and made one final push to get on the board before the teams broke for the locker room.  

After several substitutions in the 33rd minute, the Cardinals began to push the ball up the field. Andoni Pipaon would be called for a foul, but the Cardinals got the ball right back on offense. In the 36th minute, it would be Josh D'oyen-Fitchett that sent a shot towards net that Marciani would make the save on. The battle in the midfield continued over the final 5 minutes of play with Wheeling getting the final scoring chance on a corner kick. It would come in the 41st minute, but the bobcat back line did their job to get the ball out of the offensive zone. The first half would end in a 0-0 tie the second half to break stalemate. Wheeling at both boats as well as the shot on goal advantage in the half and looked to continue that into the games second half. The Cardinals continued their aggression into the second half as it took them just 2 minutes to get off their first shot.  

It would come courtesy of Jon-Michael Gordon, to push up the field to take his second shot of the day. He would end up falling wide of net. There was not a lot of offense early in the half as Gordon's shot was the only shot over the first 25 minutes of the new half, before West Virginia Wesleyan mounted their biggest attack of the night. In the 74th minute, the Bobcat's Lis Shala sent a shot to the bottom left of the net, which Marquez would reach over and make the diving save on. Wheeling would get the ball back and Wheeling would push the ball to their side. Baptiste Hervaud would take his shot in the 76th minute, but he was also denied by Marciani and the game remained tied at 0-0.  

The game would come down to the final minutes as West Virginia Wesleyan put together one final push with three minutes left on the clock. A foul by Hallvard Falch in the 86th minute set the Bobcats up with a free kick and they took advantage as Casey Bunker sent a shot on net. Marquez was there for the save, but West Virginia Wesleyan would get the ball right back on offense. This time, they wouldn't miss as Bunker got a second chance opportunity and put the ball into the net in the 88th minute and West Virginia Wesleyan would take a 1-0 lead. The Cardinals would get the ball back on the ensuing kick-off, but there wasn't enough time as the Cardinals fell by that final score of 1-0.  

Leading the way for the Cardinals was Diego Marquez, who finished the night with three saves on four shots on net. He continues his strong first season with the Cardinals, as he allowed one goal or fewer for the fourth straight game in net. The offensive effort was led by Jon-Michael Gordon, who finished with two shots, with neither of those landing on net. The three Cardinal's who finished with shots on goal were Luis Bravo, Josh D'oyen-Fitchett, and Baptiste Hervaud as they rounded out the offensive effort. 

The Wheeling University Men's Soccer team returns to action on Wednesday, September 24th, when they host Concord with kick-off at 7 PM.