BUCKHANNON — The West Virginia Wesleyan (6-3-0, 4-3-0) men’s soccer team was back at Culpepper Stadium on Wednesday against Frostburg State (4-5-1, 4-5-0) after the conclusion of a four-game road stretch.
A strong second-half performance helped WVWC claim the 2-0 decision.
A sloppy first half saw WVWC playing out of their defensive third for the majority of the half. Frostburg State outshot Wesleyan 5-2 after the first 45 minutes. Logan Nelson made two saves in the half on the way to his third clean sheet of the season.
After critical adjustments from the WVWC coaching staff, Wesleyan settled into the second half and controlled it from start to finish. The Orange & Black switched the pace of play and came out on the offensive end.
Wesleyan needed just nine minutes to break the scoreless deadlock. Javier De Ona Garcia received a Connor Hartwell cross behind the Frostburg defense. De Ona Garcia kept his composure around the Frostburg State keeper and placed the ball into the bottom left corner for the opening goal.
Four minutes later, WVWC added to its lead when Zacharias Kohring was taken down in the box, and the home team was awarded a penalty kick. Nika Monaselidze stepped up to the spot and drilled his attempt past the diving keeper. Monaselidze’s goal increased his point total to a staggering 16 on the ’21 campaign.
Charlie Naylor and the Wesleyan defensive pairing held the score at 2-0 to give the Orange & Black a critical three points in conference play.
Next up for WVWC is a trip to South Euclid, Ohio, where Notre Dame (Ohio) awaits on Sunday (Oct.10) at noon.
