Virginia Beach, VA - The JWU Men's Soccer Team began the USCAA National Championships with a match against Penn State University Beaver on Friday. In a rematch of a 3-1 early season win, the Wildcats were again victorious with another 3-1 result.

The first half was a back and forth affair with cold temps and high winds. Going into the wind, the Wildcats missed several opportunities, but finally got on the scoresheet in the 39th minute. Chance Wiginton won Shawn Geiger's throw in and flicked it to Brandon Greene, who settled the ball with his chest before volleying it home past Beaver keeper Julian Hauff. The game would enter halftime with the Wildcats still holding that 1-0 lead. 

The second half was another tightly contested period, but a Chance Wiginton finish in the 80th minute doubled JWU's lead. Less than a minute later, though, a Beaver player was brought down in the box for a penalty. PSU's Danylo Yakymov stepped to the spot and converted to draw the Lions within one goal. Two minutes later the Wildcats would score again when Weeb Isaac capitalized on a Shawn Geiger flick to cap the scoring at 3-1.

"I'm really proud of the guys tonight. I don't think we played our best game, so it's great to get a result against a high quality side," commented JWU Head Coach Matt Payne. "We face another great team tomorrow in Berekley New Jersey, and we'll need to step it up to advance."

The #2 Wildcats next face off against #3 Berkeley (NJ) on November 9th at 4:45 pm for the second match in group play.