NEW LONDON - The Wilkes University men's soccer team took down the Mitchell College Mariners 3-1 on Saturday afternoon, earning their first win of the 2025 season.

Hungry to get in the win column, the Colonels came out swinging in the first half. They outshot the Mariners 11-3 in the first half, and took an early lead in the fourth minute on an Elijah Emedoh-Kaba (Gilbertsville, PA/Boyertown Area) goal to make it 1-0. Wilkes had chances to add to the lead throughout the rest of the half, but Mitchell goalkeeper Gabriel Tiene denied them with four crucial saves.

The Mariners only took three shots in the first half, but tied the score 1-1 in the 32nd minute off a goal from Oscar Mendoza-Soto. Three minutes later, the Mariners had a chance to take the lead, but Colonels goalkeeper Matthew Conti (Florence, NJ/Florence Township Memorial High School) made his second save of the half to keep the score tied at halftime.

Early in the second half the Colonels took the lead back when Will Wagstaff (Allentown, PA/Parkland) set up Landon Kelly (Marcellus, NY/Marcellus Senior High School) to score the go-ahead goal to make it 2-1 at 49:49. That score held until the 62nd minute, when Kendall Heck (West Wyoming, PA/Wyoming Area High School) scored the third Wilkes goal off an assist from Giovanni Mazzola (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall High School), giving the team some much-needed breathing room. 

The Colonel defense and goalkeeping held strong for the remainder of the second half as the Mariners failed to close the gap. Conti made two more saves in net, and first-year Landon Keller (Provo, UT/Timpview) saw action at the end of the game, making a save of his own to close out the 3-1 victory.

As a team, the Colonels outshot the Mariners 20-9, including 8-6 in shots on goal, and earned more corner kicks 4-2. Individually, Emedoh-Kaba scored his second goal of the season, while Kelly and Keller each scored their first of the season. Kelly also led the Colonels in shots (6) and shots on goal (4) in the win. In goal, Conti made four saves in nearly 79 minutes of action and earned the win.

Wilkes improves to 1-3-1 on the season and finishes the four-game road trip on a high note. The team returns to Bruggeworth Field on Tuesday, Sept. 16 for a match against King's College at 7 p.m.