Concord Prevails with 1-0 Win at Wheeling

WHEELING, W.Va. – The Concord University men's soccer team defeated Wheeling 1-0 in a road Mountain East Conference battle Wednesday night at Bishop Schmitt Field.
 
In the first 20 minutes, offense was shown to be at a premium. Concord (5-2, 4-2 MEC) tallied two shots and a corner kick early while holding the Wheeling (1-5-1, 0-4-1 MEC) offense at bay, as the Cardinals were unable to put anything together in the final third.
 
The rest of the first half would tick away as the Mountain Lions amassed two shots on goal before the break, but the match remained scoreless.
 
Concord's defense held Wheeling to just one shot in the first half.
 
After the halftime break, the intensity ramped up from both squads. Senior goalkeeper Nathan Scargill kept Wheeling off the board with a sprawling save in the 53^rd minute which set the stage for CU to take the lead less than five minutes later.
 
Senior defender Erik Lotysz headed in his first Concord goal in the 57^th minute after a beautifully placed free kick from senior defender Ted Roberts found him at the back post.
 
Searching for an equalizer, the Cardinals where kept off the scoreboard as Scargill made three of his saves for the game in the final 20 minutes of the contest. He needed the right post to maintain the clean sheet as WU rang a shot off the woodwork in the final five minutes.
 
Scargill's four saves matched a season while Roberts' sixth assist of the season is first in the MEC.
 
Shots finished even with both sides firing nine shots in the contest.
 
Offensively, senior midfielders Darian Bradshaw and Toby Evens-Gilham led the way with two shots a piece.
 
Concord returns home to Callaghan Stadium to continue MEC play against Davis & Elkins Sunday at 4:00 p.m.