The Wheeling Men's Soccer Team returned to the road this weekend, as they traveled north to face the Salem Tigers. The Cardinals were dominant from the go, and would put four past the Tigers to cruise to a 4-0 win.
The Cardinals got on the board with a shot on goal early in the first half, as Jon-Michael Gordon had his shot saved in the bottom right by the Salem keeper in the 7th. Luis Yanes came back with a shot of his own 30 seconds, but this one missed just wide. A positive first 10 minutes from Wheeling continued into the middle of the half, as Dominic Lopez-Aceves saw a good chance at goal in the 16th minute, but had his shot saved also by the Salem keeper.
Alberto Madail in the Wheeling goal saw his first bit of work for the afternoon in the 27th minute, as he got down to stop a shot heading for the bottom centre. The Cardinals made a host of substitutions to attempt to break the deadlock before the half. It wasnt long before Jon-Michael Gordon had his second attempt on goal in the game, with this chance saved also. Alberto Madail had his work cut out for him to end the half, as he saved two shots in the span of five seconds to keep Salem out. Both teams went into half time goalless.
The second half started much like the first, with the Cardinals on the front foot and firing at goal. Wheeling had three shots in the first 10 minutes of the half, with them all going wide. It was never going to be long before they broke through however, as Javier Ramos found Wheeling's first goal of the game in the 56th minute, assisted by Jon-Michael Gordon. The Cardinals had waited 55 minutes for their first goal, but only had to wait 2 for their next. Enzo Boulaoued provided Luis Yanes with a chance, and Yanes made no mistake in putting Wheeling up two.
A host of Salem substitutions came with 25 to go, in an attempt to grab something from the game. KJ Viglundsson had his first attempt of the game saved in the bottom right in the 71st, before Javier Ramos almost grabbed the Cardinal's third in the 74th if not for another good Salem save. The Cardinals were all over the Tigers, with seven shots coming in a four minute span from the 76th to 80th. Luis Yanes finally broke through for the Cardinals in the 86th minute, and Wheeling had put the game to bead. The Cardinals were ruthless going forward, and weren't done for the afternoon. Another barrage of Wheeling shots came in the 90th minute, before Alonso Martinez got his first goal of the season with the final kick of the game, after an assist from Charlie Goldmsith. The Cardinals ended an enjoyable afternoon with a 4-0 win away from home.
The Wheeling University Men's Soccer Team returns to action on Wednesday, October 14th, as they host Davis & Elkins College.
