Charleston, W.Va.- The University of Charleston Golden Eagles welcomed Salem University to the WAC this past Wednesday for their final home Mountain East Conference regular season matchup of 2026.
The Basics:
Location: Welch Athletic Complex
Score: UC 5, SU 1
Records: Charleston 13-2-0 (10-1-0 MEC) Salem 4-10-2 (2-9-1 MEC)
How it Happened:
Six minutes in, the Golden Eagles took the lead as a longer pass by Jeremy Köppe over the Tigers defence played through Mattia Marini, and his touch inadvertently fell to Martin Echarren's feet, who made no mistake in rolling the ball into an empty net. Seven minutes later, it was 2-0 as Jose Suarez Monaco's intended cross found the top corner from the right-hand side, sailing over the Salem keeper. The action wasn't finished in the first half though, as Noah Paschalides stepped up to take a central free kick just right of the middle of the pitch. He connected beautifully with it and sent the ball flying into the top left corner, leaving the Tigers keeper with absolutely no chance, and giving the Golden Eagles a resounding 3-0 lead heading into half time.
Into the second half and Charleston were quick off the mark again, as Samu Montes' through ball led Caio Moraes in on goal. He couldn't quite get the ball out of his feet and it instead fell to Atem Kato, who rolled the ball into the Salem net for his third goal of the season, and Charleston's fourth of the day. Salem pulled one back in the 59th minute as a back pass didn't quite make it to Luka Felix, and Junior Lomera pounced to capitalize. Caio Moraes restored the four-goal margin three minutes later though, as he headed home a Miku Dawit cross from the right-hand side. The game ended 5-1 to the hosts, and in the last six minutes two Golden Eagles made their first team debuts, as Sebastian Chang and Jude Boyle made their well-deserved first appearances. Fourteen Golden Eagles were also recognized and celebrated on Senior Day.
Up Next:
Up next for the Golden Eagles is a trip to #18 Concord University this Sunday, October 25th. Kick-off is scheduled for 4pm.
