Wheeling, W. Va. - Throughout the season, the Wheeling University Men's Soccer team (1-5-1, 0-4-1) has relied on a strong defensive stand to keep them in the game. That defense was once again on display on Wednesday night as the Cardinals welcomed in Concord University as they continued their Mountain East Conference (MEC) schedule. The Cardinals held the Mountain Lions to just nine shots on the night, five on net, but the Cardinals fell to Concord 1-0.

Concord would be the aggressor early on in the game, taking advantage of an early offside call for the Cardinals and taking the ball down to their offensive end. After putting their first two shots off net, Concord's Raheem Baptiste would take the first shot on goal. Diego Marquez would get the start and made the save to keep it tied at 0-0 as he continued his strong start to the season. Wheeling's first shot would come in the 26^th minute when Elie Simon set up for a free kick. It would end up going over the left corner of the net and neither team was able to get on the scoreboard over the first 26 minutes of play. The ball would bounce around the midfield as the half went on and it wasn't until the final minute of the half that the next shot was taken.

Despite an offside call on the Mountain Lions in the 43^rd minute, the ball would hit off a Cardinal defender before rolling out of bounds. Concord would set up for a throw-in from the five-yard line at Bishop Schmitt field and the throw went right to the center of the net. Concord's Toby Evans-Gilham would wind up for the shot, but Marquez jumped in the pile to make the save. However, the ball was still bouncing around and nearly snuck its way into the bottom right corner of the net. However, the Cardinal defense would get in front of the ball and kicked it away from the net and out of harms way. With the threat neutralized, the teams went into the locker room with the score sitting even at 0-0. The Cardinals would be outshot 5-1 in the half, but would up their aggressiveness in the second half.

After Concord took the first shot, falling off net, the Cardinals would come on their first attack in the 52^nd minute. Jon-Michael Gordon would bring the ball up the field and sent a shot towards the bottom left corner of the net. However, Concord's Nathan Scargill made the save and the Cardinals were kept off the board. In the 55^th minute, Concord would mount another scoring effort, and once again Marquez was there to make the save and keep it a 0-0 game. However, a pair of Cardinal Yellow Cards two minutes later would open the door for the Mountain Lions, breaking the tie. Concord's Erik Lotsyz would take the shot and snuck it into the bottom corner of the goal as the Mountain Lions took a 1-0 lead with 33 minutes to play.

With the Cardinals trailing 1-0, they would mount several different comeback attempts over the final 30 minutes of play. In the 71^st minute, a Concord foul set the Cardinals up for a free kick and Elie Simon would try to sink the kick in the bottom of the net, but Scargill once again got in front of the ball. It would allow the Cardinals to set up for a corner kick and Joshua D'oyen-Fitchett would send the pass towards net, but once again Scargill was there once again to make a save. Their final push would come in the 87th minute as  Gordon nearly tied the game with three minutes to play. He would send a shot towards net, and it would clang off the goal post ending the game. Wheeling would fall 1-0 in the game and dropped to 0-4-1 in MEC play.

Leading the way for the Cardinals was Elie Simon, who finished with four shots, two on goal in the effort. Since scoring his first goal against Point Park, Simon has become a big part of the Cardinal's offense as they look to continue to grow. Jon-Michael Gordon was the other Cardinal to take multiple shots on the day, taking three shots and putting one on net. Diego Marquez got the start in net, and made three saves on four shots faced. Daniel Delo would play the final 12 minutes and made one save on his only shot faced.

The Wheeling University Men's Soccer team returns to action on Wednesday, October 1^st, when they host Frostburg State with kick-off at 7 PM.