Wheeling, W.Va- The Wheeling University Men's Soccer team (1-5-1), (0-4-1), have been tested in the early parts of the season with close matchups against Charleston, West Virginia Wesleyan, and most recently, Concord. Moreover, the Cards have a chance to halt their two-game skid when Frostburg State comes to town tomorrow night, but as always, it will not come without a fight from the opposition.
Last week, the Cardinals hosted the Mountain Lions in a tightly contested matchup. Both sides displayed excellent defense and had some flares of offense with each team finishing with nine shots. However, Concord scored the only goal of the contest in the 56th minute and would hold off an aggressive Cardinal push down the stretch to come away with the 1-0 win.
Despite being outshot 5-1 in the first half, the Cardinals up the ante in the second half with an additional eight shots. Elie Simon accounted for half of those and put two shots on goal. Simon has been included in the Cardinal offensive gameplan quite frequently with his fast feet and shifty style of play.
Another piece to the Cardinal offense is redshirt sophomore Jon-Michael Gordon. His three recorded shots in the match against Concord placed him among the top five in shots taken in the Mountain East Conference (MEC). Gordon, like Simon, pushes play up the field with his quickness, and his shots can make it difficult for opposing defenses to recover.
The Matchup
The Frostburg Bobcats stand at 5th place in the MEC standings with a record of 2-4-1 and 2-3 in the conference. Sophomore Dominic Good is currently in a three-way tie for second place in conference goals with three to his name. Good leads the team in goals, but the offense does not just come from him. Senior Carlos Quintero Rivas is tied with Good for six points on the Bobcat roster with two goals and two assists. The Cardinal's defensive style of play must be aware of where the two are located when they are on the pitch.
This will be the 11th time the Cardinals and Bobcats have met with Frostburg having the upper hand with an 8-3 record. The two squads last met on October 30th last year that saw the Cardinals fall 2-1 while defending home turf. Both Good and Quintero Rivas tallied goals in the contest.
The Details
The Wheeling University Men's Soccer team will welcome the Frostburg State Bobcats tomorrow night at 7pm. The match will be livestreamed on the Mountain East Digital Network and can be viewed HERE. LiveStats can be viewed HERE.
