Wheeling, W. Va. -The Wheeling Men's Soccer team put their first three points of the season on the board Sunday night, as new Head Coach Jack Shearer got his first career win in a 3-1 victory over Walsh. Jon-Michael Gordon finished the home opener with his first career multi-goal game, while KJ Viglundsson got on the board for the first time to wrap up the scoring
The team's opening match against CAL-U showed the Cardinals needing to pressure the net more, and that's exactly what they did. The first Wheeling shot on target came inside of four minutes, as Jon-Michael Gordon had his attempt saved. The next came under a minute later, courtesy of Charlie Goldsmith, which was also saved by the Walsh keeper. Diego Marquez was in goal for the Cardinals this evening, and he made his first save in under ten minutes diving down to the bottom right. The game was flowing, with both teams having shots on goal. Wheeling found another opportunity in the 11th minute at the feet of Andoni Pipaon, but his effort was saved again by the Walsh goalie. Wheeling was beginning to make their mark on the game, as three Cardinal efforts came inside of 10 seconds. They kept the pressure in as the clock approached 25, and forced Walsh into their first sub of the night.
The pressure was mounting on Walsh, as Elie Simon hit the woodwork before Andoni Pipaon forced another save from the keeper, this time resulting in a corner. The corner came to nothing, but prompted Wheelings first sub of the night as Jose Garcia came on for Charlie Goldsmith. Two more Wheeling subs came in the 35th minute, but struggled to break through with any real chances and the game went into the half at 0-0
Wheeling and Walsh made a combined 11 subs to start the second, as the half got off to a fast start. Javier Ramos had an attempt on goal saved to mark the Walsh keepers 6th save of the night. It was Jon-Michael Gordon however, who finally found a way past Nik Bertolini in the 54th minute to put Wheeling up 1-0. Walsh would not go down without a fight though, as 19 seconds after a 63rd minute sub, Walsh scored the equalizer when Aleksander Miketich founs the net. Walsh stuck with the momentum, and forced another save out of Diego Marquez in the 66th minute. Another shot from Walsh came, and head coach Jack Shearer knew he needed to make a change if he were to come away from the tie with three points.
The Cardinals made two changes in the 72nd, and had their second goal scored just six minutes later. It was midfielder KJ Viglundsson who put Wheeling back up, assisted by Enzo Boulaoued from a corner. The Cardinal tempo was high, and their third goal came just two minutes and two seconds later. Jon-Michael Gordon got his second of the evening, made by Elie Simon, who worked the ball past a Walsh defender to find the foot of Gordon. With ten minutes to go, the Cardinals had commanding control of the game, forcing another two saves from the Walsh goalie. As the game neared its close, Walsh began to lose composure, as yellow cards started to come out. The Wheeling performance proved too strong for Walsh on the night, and the game finished 3-1 Cardinals.
Wheeling finished the game with 23 shots and 11 on target, showing a strong attacking performance. Enzo Boulaoued and Elie Simon both had one assist. Jon-Michael Gordon scored two of the team's three goals on the night, his first career multi-goal game. The final point came from KJ Viglundsson, who scored his first Wheeling goal in the effort. Diego Marquez led a big defensive effort in net, making seven saves on eight shots faced, putting together an .875 save percentage to pick up his first win of the season.
The Wheeling Men's Soccer team will return to action on Sunday, September 7th as they travel to Walsh for their first conference fixture.
