The Kenyon College women’s soccer played to a scoreless draw with the Ohio Wesleyan University Battling Bishops on Tuesday evening. While both sides had some chances, neither could overcome their opponent's stout defense and convert them into goals
The game may have lacked goals, but it had its fair share of drama. The possession battle in the midfield was intense from the start, with pesky defenses making life hard for both teams’ forwards. The Bishops took only three shots in the entire first half, while the Ladies took two.
Ohio Wesleyan looked as if it finally caught a break and scored in the 38th minute, but before celebrations could get under way, the referee called the shot offside.
The second half followed a similar script to the first, with no goals and plenty of stymied opportunities for both teams. The Bishops were able to provide more pressure than the Ladies, recording eight shots and forcing Kenyon goalkeeper Leah Anderson to make five saves.
The Ladies still had chances of their own, including a pair of golden opportunities to score within the final 15 minutes, but a strong Ohio Wesleyan tackle in the box and an offside call negated both attempts.
In the final minute of regulation, Ohio Wesleyan went on the attack, as the Bishops’ Mikayla Watkins took a point blank shot at Anderson, who had inched forward in the box. Anderson was able to deflect the shot only to be faced with another one off of the rebound, this time from the foot of Hannah Baugman. Once again, Anderson made the save. With the clock running down, the Bishops had a final corner kick attempt, but the Ladies headed the ball away to force overtime.
The overtime periods progressed much as regulation did. The best chance either side was able to muster was when a Kenyon yellow card set up an Ohio Wesleyan free kick from just outside the box with three minutes to go in the second overtime. The shot, however, curled away from the net to the right, never even forcing a play in goal. The Ladies had one final opportunity with a corner kick with a minute left, but came up empty.
Anderson had a stellar game, finishing with eight saves. The Kenyon defense, as a whole, had a strong performance, with Kit Ross and Chloe Webb playing significant minutes and leading the group. Olivia Dion and Samantha Hays tied for the team lead in shots taken with three apiece.
With the draw, Kenyon moves to 5-7-1 for the season and 2-1-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The Ladies' next game is Wednesday, October 20 at home against The College of Wooster.
Lords stun Bishops in double overtime
The No. 22 ranked Kenyon College men’s soccer team topped the No. 4 ranked Ohio Wesleyan University Battling Bishops 1-0 in double overtime Tuesday night.
The win for the Lords pushes their win streak to nine games and keeps them undefeated and atop the North Coast Athletic Conference standings.
Kenyon’s first shot on goal came in the eighth minute when Sam Carson shot the ball from 20 yards out. Ohio Wesleyan goalkeeper Mason Taylor dove and stopped the ball just before it crossed the line. A few minutes later, Mikey Cockerell fouled Gerardo Martinez outside the box to give Kenyon a free kick. Aidan Burns passed the ball to Carson inside the box. Carson’s second shot of the game ended the same way as his first, a diving stop by Taylor. Both teams ended with five shots at the end of the first half, but the score remained tied at 0-0.
In the second half, the Lords created great opportunities to score, but a stingy Ohio Wesleyan defense did not budge. Kenyon’s best opportunity came with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game. After a Bishop foul on the edge of the box, Johan Johannsson caught the Ohio Wesleyan team off guard as they were still setting up their defense. Johannsson had an open shooting lane, but his shot went onto the top netting and out of play. The second half stats reflected this as Kenyon put seven of its 18 shots on goal in the half while also earning nine corner kicks. On paper, the Lords dominated the second half, but the game remained scoreless at Mavec Field.
In the first overtime, the Bishops attacked to end the game quickly. A cross from Hector Gomez went over the head of Dom Calabrese but connected with Jaggar Brooker. Brooker’s header went down into the grass and into the waiting hands of goalkeeper Jack Pedreschi. After the tense extra time, the match remained scoreless.
With a tie looming, the Lords stole possession in the middle third of the field. Gerardo Martinez dribbled up the field before passing to Alem Duratovic, who made his way toward the middle of the field and edge of the box. The first-year forward ripped a shot past the diving hands of Chase Agin, into the back of the net and ending the conference thriller.
The Lords move on to face Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind., on Saturday.
