In the Pioneers’ match against the Davis & Elkins Senators, tight defense was the name of the game for the majority of the first half. 

Point Park soccer returned to conference play on Wednesday night at Highmark Stadium in their first ever meeting with Davis & Elkins College.

Heading into Wednesday’s match, the Senators sat at a 4-0 record on the road and 4-2-1 overall on the season.

The Pioneers were coming off of a bounce back victory over Salem on Sept. 29 with a score of 4-3, and entered Wednesday’s contest with a 4-3-1 record.

During the first half, the Pioneers were held without a shot on goal. The Senators had two, both of which were stopped by Point Park goalkeeper David Ali.

With nearly two minutes remaining in the half, Point Park defenseman Alejandro Perez kicked the ball from the right side of the field towards the left side of the net, where team co-captain Mortiz Sarfert was waiting to head it in for his first goal of the season. This gave the Pioneers a 1-0 lead. 

As time was winding down in the half, something was said possibly by a Point Park assistant coach atone of the referees, resulting in a yellow card being awarded to the Point Park bench. 

Both teams had more scoring opportunities throughout the second half. Point Park had a total of six shots, and Davis & Elkins had 11, but the score continued to remain at 1-0. 

The Pioneers were able to capitalize once more with just fourteen seconds remaining when Nils Benning went one-on-one with the Senators goalkeeper and snuck it past him to seal the victory at 2-0 for Point Park. 

Benning was given a yellow card shortly after the goal due to his celebration, in which he took his jersey off in the midst of his excitement. 

Benning, a sophomore midfielder, currently leads the team with five goals and 11 points through the seven games he has played.

The Pioneers sit at fourth place in the Mountain East Conference standings as of Sunday morning, with 10 points and a 3-3-1 conference record.

Point Park travels to West Liberty, West Virginia to play the West Liberty University Hilltoppers on Wednesday at 6 p.m.