The Shepherd University men’s soccer team split their two most recent matches with a victory at Concord University and a loss that came at Wheeling Jesuit.
Coming into the match against Concord, the Rams were looking to rebound after being blown out by #8 University of Charleston at home by the score of 13-0. Shepherd has a 1-2 record against Mountain East Conference opponents and as a result, they sit fifth out of seven teams in the MEC men’s soccer standings.
On Sept. 17, the Rams claimed a 1-0 victory over the Concord Mountain Lions thanks to some late game heroics by freshman forward Jeff Kammerer. The theme of this game was defense as the game remained scoreless until the 95th minute when Kammerer scored the game-winning goal off an assist from senior forward Ricky Johnson. It was the first goal scored by Shepherd since Sept. 9 when they settled for a 3-3 draw against Washington Adventist University. Furthermore, their three shots on goal in this game marked a season low for the Rams.
Shepherd’s next contest came on Sept. 20 when they traveled to Wheeling Jesuit University. This game was similar to their game against the Mountain Lions a few days prior however, this time the Rams fell by the score of 1-0 to the Cardinals. The two teams were scoreless at the half. In the 64th minute, Iniguez De Heredia scored off an assist from his teammate Luke Roan and it would prove to be the game-winning goal for Wheeling Jesuit. The Rams had several chances to tie the game after the Wheeling Jesuit goal however they were unable to put the ball in the back of the net. With the loss, Shepherd falls to 3-2-1 on the year. Wheeling Jesuit held a 19-6 advantage in shots and a 6-3 edge in corner kicks.
There has been a significant falloff in regards to offensive production from Shepherd recently. After posting 55 shots in their first three games of the season, the Rams have only managed 21 shots in their last three matches. In addition, Shepherd has only scored one goal in their last three games. It will be critical for this team to make improvements on offense in their upcoming games in order to get back on track.
The Rams will host West Virginia Wesleyan College on Sept. 23 and they will travel to Notre Dame College (Ohio) on Sept. 27.
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