Athens, W. Va. – Sunday afternoon's game took four extra minutes, but the Wheeling University Men's Soccer team (4-6, 3-5) triumphed over Concord University in overtime for a 2-1 victory. The win broke a five-game losing streak for the team, getting them back in the win column for the first time since they defeated Frostburg State back on September 19^th.

The game-winning goal came in the 94^th minute of the game courtesy of freshman Salem Mwelwa. Mwelwa received a pass from senior Simen Moksnes and took the ball up the field. He would take his shot at the net, and snuck it past the Concord goalkeeper to give Wheeling the 2-1 win. Not only was it Mwelwa's first game-winning goal of his career, but the first collegiate goal of the freshman's career. It was one of two shots taken by Mwelwa on the day, both of which were on net, as he was efficient and ended up winning the game for the Cardinals.

This cane after both teams took their shots in the first half of the game, each getting on the board. The Cardinals outshot Concord in the first half 9-7, but it was the Cougar's who would find the net first. The goal came in the 41^st minute when Concord's Tristan Bragg took a shot on net that snuck past senior goalkeeper Tyler Serman to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead. However, that lead would not stand for long as Wheeling got on the board themselves just two minutes later. Sophomore Declan Mooney got the ball and scored his first goal of the season to tie the game at 1-1.
The score would stay that way for the final three minutes as the teams headed into halftime with that same 1-1 score. Wheeling outshot Concord 9-7 in that first half, but each goalkeeper ended up making one save in the game.

As they moved to the second half, Wheeling made a change in net, giving junior goalkeeper Austin Aaron his first appearance of the 2021 season. He would play the second half and the rest of overtime and held his own in his 49 minutes of play. He just needed his offense to back up his efforts. As they moved to the second half, things got chippier as Wheeling tried to get back on the board.

Over the final 45 minutes of regulation, there were a total of seven yellow cards and one red card given out between the two teams. Wheeling took advantage of the chippiness and upped the offense throughout the final 45 minutes. They outshot Concord 11-3 in the second half, however, they weren't very accurate with those shots putting only five of them on net.  Concord nearly won the game when they got a shot off in the 85^th minute, but Aaron made a big save to keep the game tied. The score would stay 1-1 as the final 90 minutes ticked away before Mwelwa came through with the game-winning goal.

 Senior Miguel Martin led the offensive effort for the Cardinals on the day, getting off right shots while putting three on net. Freshman Daniel Skarpness added three sots one on net, while sophomore Richard Afolayanka and Mwelwa each got two shots off on the day. The goalkeepers were led by Aaron, who got his first win of the season making two saves in 49 minutes. Serman got the start and played the entire first half while allowing a goal and making two saves. The win moves Wheeling into a tie with Alderson Broaddus for the sixth spot in the MEC standings as they try to climb their way back into contention.

The Wheeling University Men's Soccer team is back in action when they return home on Wednesday to face the University of Charleston at 7 PM.