After having a nice home stretch this past week, the Wheeling University Men's Soccer team (3-5-1, 3-3-1) hit the road for each of their next three games. They begin the run with a battle against the Mountain East Conference's (MEC) leaders #8 Davis & Elkins on Wednesday with kick-off at 7 PM. After a strong week of play at home last week, the Cardinals look to take some of that momentum with them on this three-game road trip as they battle for a spot in the MEC playoffs.
Last time out, the Cardinals had to go up against the MEC's second best team in the University of Charleston and put up one of their best fights of the season. Through the game's first 45 minutes, the Cardinals did not concede a goal and both teams got off just six shots in the half. Goalkeeper Carlos Molina made one save during the run and the teams broke for the locker room sitting at a 0-0 tie. It didn't take long for the Golden Eagles to get on the board in the second half, with a goal in the 53rd minute, but the Cardinal were able to stay right with them. The final goal of the game came in the 87th minute and Charleston would go on to win 2-0.
Despite the loss, the Cardinals continue to get excellent work in net from sophomore goalkeeper Carlos Molina. Molina made four saves on six shots faced against Charleston and added a shutout effort and two saves earlier in the week against West Liberty. The sophomore has made four starts this season and has led the Cardinals with two shutouts while going 2-1-1 in net this season. He also has a team high .714 save percentage in those four games while making 10 saves on the season. As a team, the Cardinals have a .625 save percentage and have been helped by strong play from their defensive line, including sophomores TJ Cherry and Armando Loynaz and freshmen Adam Edvinsson and Aaron James.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Cardinals have been a second half team this season, scoring nine of their 14 goals this season in the second half. Sophomore Christian Ruud has been the one to step up as of late, scoring a goal in two of the team's last three games. He has been playing well off some of the team's top forwards this season, scoring the first two goals of his collegiate career. Freshman Diego Buenano has led the offensive attack this season with three goals, two assists, and a team-high eight points through the first nine games of the season. The offense will look to get on the board early and often as they get ready to face the conference leaders.
As the season reaches its halfway point, the Cardinals find themselves in good position, holding down the conference's fourth-place spot with a record of 3-3-1 in conference play. They currently have a half game lead over West Virginia Wesleyan and lead sixth place Concord by two games in the standings. With the newly expanded top six teams making the MEC tournament this season, Wheeling is looking to stay the course as they try and lock up their first playoff berth since the 2018 season, when they fell 2-0 to the University of Charleston in the MEC Championship game.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Senators will be meeting for the 20th time in program history on Wednesday, with Davis & Elkins leading the all-time series at 9-7-3. However, the Cardinals have fared much better on the road against the Senators, where they are 3-3-1 compared to a 4-6 record at home. However, they are looking for their first win against Davis & Elkins since the 2011 season when they beat them 4-3 on the road. In their last meeting, Wheeling slowed down the Senators offense, but still fell in a 2-0 affair.
Former Cardinal Harry Firth got the start in the game and played well in net making eight saves on 10 shots faced. However, the Cardinals would get just three shots off on the night, led by Hugo Rodriguez and Armando Loynaz, who each put a shot on net. The Cardinals will look to start this year's match-up off strong as they hit the road.
The Details
Kick-off for Wednesday night's game is scheduled for 7 PM at Nuttall Field on the campus of Davis & Elkins. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
Original source can be found here.
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