History
Charleston, W. Va. – After opening their Mountain East Conference (MEC) schedule on Sunday, the Wheeling University Men’s Soccer team (0-2-1, 0-1-1) traveled down to Charleston, West Virginia, to battle the defending conference champions. The Cardinals defense would shine throughout the night, holding the University of Charleston to just one goal, but in the end one was all they needed, with Wheeling falling 1-0. It was the second straight game where the Cardinals allowed just one goal to a conference opponent, with the back line working hard throughout the game.
Despite being outshot 20-6 in the game, the Cardinal’s backline, led by Pablo Prieto, Luis Bravo, and Ruesca Martinez, allowed just five of those shots to land on net. The teams would battle for possession over the first 10 minutes, but it was the Cardinals who would get the first shot opportunity. Andoni Pipaon bought the ball up the field, and sent it towards the bottom corner of the net, but was denied by Golden Eagle’s goalkeeper Curro Rodriguez. Charleston’s first shot would come in the 15th minute, which went wide of the net, but a foul set them up for a scoring opportunity. The Golden Eagles were set up for a free kick and needed one pass to get the ball into the net courtesy of Tomas Petrungaro. The Cardinals were down 1-0, but the defense would take over after the opening goal.
The shot by Pipaon would be the lone Cardinal shot of the half, but the defense did their job to keep it a one-goal deficit. They forced each of the next three Golden Eagle shots over the next 17 minutes to go off net by pressuring the opposing attack. It wasn’t until the 41st minute that Charleston put a shot on goal and Diego Marquez, who was making his first collegiate start, came through with his first collegiate save. He would make one more save in the final minute before one more shot off net would end the half with Wheeling trailing 1-0. Wheeling was outshot 9-2 in the half, but of the nine Golden Eagle shots taken, only three of them landed on goal. The Cardinals would continue to force bad shots throughout the night, and kept their team in the game throughout the night.
As they came out for the second half, the Cardinal defense continued to pressure the Golden Eagles, forcing their first three shots to go wide of the net. Their first scoring opportunity would come at the 62nd minute after their fourth shot went wide. They reset their offensive push and sent a shot towards the bottom of the net and Marquez was able to get in front of the ball. Just 35 seconds later, Charleston’s Noah Paschalides would try to sneak one through the bottom of the net, but Marquez was able to get back on his feet and make the second save to keep it a 1-0 game. Charleston continued their attack over the next five minutes, taking two more shots, but both would end up going wide of the ent and the Cardinals kept strong down just 1-0.
Over the final 20 minutes of play, the Cardinals would look for the strike to even up the match and put together two opportunities to do just that. The first came in the 73rd minute after a foul gave the Cardinals the ball in the Charleston offensive end. Moain Nacif would take the free kick for the Cardinals, but sent the ball just too high to keep it a 1-0 affair. As time was ticking away, another Golden Eagle foul would set Nacif up for another opportunity in the 81st minute. This time, the shot went on net, but Rodriguez made the save and kept it a 1-0 game. Charleston would take one more shot in the 84th minute, but once again it would go wide, and as the final horn rang, the Cardinals fell 1-0, picking up their first conference loss of the season.
The Cardinal defense would lead the way throughout the day, with Diego Marquez having a strong collegiate debut. Marquez would face five shots on the night, making four saves for an .800 save percentage in the effort. The rest of the Cardinal defense worked hard throughout the night, as Pablo Prieto, Ruesca Martinez, and Luis Bravo holding the Golden Eagles to 20 shots, putting five of those shots on net. Leading the offense for the Cardinals was Moain Ncaif, who took three of the team’s six shots, putting one on net. Andoni Pipaon would add a shot on goal, while Baptiste Hervaud and Alonso Martinez each taking shots to round out the day.
The Wheeling University Men’s Soccer team returns to action on Sunday, September 14th, when the Cardinals host Point Park University, with kick-off at noon.
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