Buckhannon, WV -- West Virginia Wesleyan Men's Soccer has picked up points in every game but one this month, and they kept it rolling on Wednesday night against Wheeling, picking up all three points in a 3-0 victory. In what was probably the coldest night of the year so far in Buckhannon, the Bobcats offense was anything but. With sixteen total shots, and eight of them on target, Wesleyan put the pressure on from the opening whistle. Senior Luca Falconieri came into the match battling injury, and has missed the last few games, but he showed no ill-effects on Wednesday. Falconieri opened the scoring for the Bobcats, and propelled the offense to the three goal triumph.

Continuing the strong season, Wesleyan moves to 9-3-1 overall and secures second place in the Mountain East Conference with their 25 points. 

It's a different story for Wheeling, who lose their third straight to fall to 1-10 in conference play.

After controlling possession for most of the first 18 minutes of the match, Wesleyan got their first great scoring opportunity when Freshman Nugzar Barkaia drew a penalty in the box in front of the Wheeling goal. Senior Captain Luca Falconieri stepped up to take the ensuing penalty, and buried the shot to the left of the keeper to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead. In the 31st minute, a Wheeling player was shown a red card, and the Cardinals would play down a man the rest of the way. Freshman Sinasi Emre Deniz, who came on as a substitute, took a pass from Barkaia at the top of the box and beat the keeper to the top right of the net for the 2-0 lead. Deniz's goal was his second of the season, and Falconieri's was his fifth. Another penalty shot was given in the 61st minute, again drawn by Barkaia. This time Sophomore Nika Monaselidze took the penalty, and a great save was made by the Wheeling keeper to maintain the 2-0 scoreline. Wesleyan finally got their third goal in the 80th minute, when Sophomore Jorge De Ona Garcia finished off a great through pass from Lauri Vasa. It was Garcia's second goal of the season as well. 

For Wheeling, their keeper James Serman kept them competitive in this one. He made a handful of saves that kept the scoreline from getting large early, and denied recent MEC Offensive Player of the Week Nika Monaselidze on the penalty save. 

Wesleyan has their biggest game of the season approaching quickly on Sunday. First place, and undefeated in MEC play, Charleston comes to Buckhannon for a 1 PM showdown. This should be the best game played in the Mountain East Conference this season, as the two top teams are squaring off, and the Bobcats have home-field advantage. Wesleyan has only lost once at Culpepper Soccer Stadium this year. If the Bobcats can grab three points from this match, they have a legitimate chance at pulling off a regular-season MEC crown. 

Wheeling will travel to Athens to take on Concord next Wednesday, they have a full six days off from competition.